Moving On
by Certain POV
Summary: An AU about what would have happened had Luke died from Shimrra's amphistaff poison at the end of The Unifying Force.
1. Chapter 1

They had been too late; the war was over, the Galactic Alliance had won, but they were too late.

The great and legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker - husband, brother, father, uncle - was now dead.

Jacen and the rest of his family - his father Han, mother Leia, sister Jaina, and aunt Mara - had all rushed into the _Falcon_'s medbay and reached Luke's side when he looked at all of them with weakened eyes.

"There is no death; there is only the Force," he croaked. "I love you all."

And his eyes slowly shut as his life left him, leaving only the shell of his body behind.

A moment of stunned silence passed; and Mara was the first to break down into tears as she collapsed on top of her husband's corpse. Leia went next, joining her sister-in-law as they covered themselves over Luke's body in uncontrollable sobs. Jaina fell between her mother and aunt and wept like them; and Han was last, encompassing the three women beneath him as he, too, cried over his brother-in-law's loss, just as he did when Chewie and Anakin died earlier in the war.

Jacen, however, remained in place behind all of them, unable to do anything but breathe as he stared at his family grieving over his uncle's loss.

He had failed Luke, Jacen realized; and worst of all, he failed his family. They had made it this far into the war, having endured Chewbacca and Anakin's losses at the beginning and halfway points of the conflict, only to suffer one final defeat at the very end. Even in the throes of victory, with Shimrra and Onimi both dead, the Yuuzhan Vong now surrendering to the Galactic Alliance, and Zonama Sekot bringing down Vong ships within her gravitational grasp, the Skywalker-Solo family had suffered one final blow, one final stab in the heart thanks to the invaders. They had endured those losses, narrowly avoiding any further ones as they fought on, until the bitter end; it wasn't even so close to the finish line, as was the case when Admiral Ackbar died prior to the Galactic Alliance launching their invasion for Yuuzhan'tar, but it was just after.

It was unfair, Jacen told himself. It was unfair.

And Jacen, who had felt that he could save his uncle by concocting a serum to vanquish the amphistaff poison that Shimrra had introduced into Luke's system, had not had the time to use the same technique that Vergere had known for so long. Vergere had used that technique to help cure Mara of the coomb spore virus that Nom Anor had introduced into her system while Jacen had been unable to do the same for his uncle.

Now Luke was gone, and Jacen didn't know what to do. His Master, his teacher, his uncle, with whom he had been so close to for so long, through thick and thin, had died because Jacen wasn't there in time for him. He thought they could avoid another loss like Chewie and Anakin; but no, even after emerging victorious, the Yuuzhan Vong just had to leave one final impact against the Skywalkers and Solos, and they took the greatest of them from his family.

What use had it been when Jacen achieved oneness with the Unifying Force to kill Onimi? Just so that the galaxy could be saved? So that the war could finally end with peace? What good was it when Luke had been taken from all of them?

But Jacen knew that, ultimately, what was on his mind was the exact same thing that his father had in mind when Chewie died on Sernpidal all those years ago; he was blaming himself for something that he was not responsible for because he felt the same thing that everyone else in his family was suffering right now. Luke had went up against Shimrra, the false Supreme Overlord poisoned him, and Luke killed him; even if Jacen were to succumb to the dark side of the Force - of which the Unifying Force declared that there was no such thing - Luke's killer was already dead, so revenge wasn't even something that could be accomplished now.

All Jacen could do now was grieve, and he stood there, feeling isolated from his own family, even though he could just as well join them over Luke's loss, as he felt that he was unworthy of joining them in their mourning, having failed to save his uncle from a death that could have been easily averted.

Beyond the threshold, behind Jacen and his grieving family, stood C-3PO and R2-D2, watching the spectacle with sorrowful spirits.

"You know, Artoo," Threepio said, "at times like these... I feel glad that I am not able to experience the emotions that humans feel."

Artoo gave a grim imitation-purr in response.

.

Shoving hard against the door leading out of the escape pod, Nom Anor grunted and fell out in a heap upon the debris-strewn, yorik coral-covered ground of Vongformed Coruscant. It had been difficult to pilot this escape pod away from its point of origin with one hand, Nom Anor thought, but he had made it, in spite of the bone-jarring crash that occurred upon landing thanks to the impact wave when Onimi's ship self-destructed. It had caused Nom Anor's pod to veer off course from a safe landing, so he was lucky to be alive now.

As lucky as he could be considering that there was an extra escape pod aboard Onimi's escape vessel; he had lied to the Solos when he told them that he wanted nothing more to do with the galaxy after the war had ended. He had simply not wanted to be taken up for the crimes that he had committed against the New Republic and the Skywalker-Solo clan; for all the cowardice that had been his stigma, not only as a Yuuzhan Vong but as a sentient being in general, Nom Anor wasn't so scared as to actually commit suicide, a true coward's way out.

With his one remaining hand - the other having been lopped off by Leia Organa Solo back in Onimi's escape ship before it exploded above - Nom Anor shoved himself back to his feet and looked at his surroundings. Like the rest of the planet that the Yuuzhan Vong took to calling Yuuzhan'tar, this area of the planet was coated in the same artificial vegetation as the rest of the world. However, there were no familiar landmarks, destroyed or otherwise, that Nom Anor could clearly identify; but wherever he was, he figured, he must have been far from the seat of power where Shimrra's Citadel had been stationed, so at least there would be little to no attention on this area of the planet. He never had enough time as Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar to really get himself familiar to the planet, he thought... or rather he didn't make time, what with the circumstances of the closing days of the war.

Around him, buildings that were covered by the Yuuzhan Vong's terraforming had been leveled thanks to the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, and bodies of Galactic Alliance military personnel, Peace Brigade, and Yuuzhan Vong, along with the remnants of ships from both sides, lay strewn all around him. Above, their silhouettes outlined through the atmosphere that separated the planet from the vacuum of space, very few Yuuzhan Vong warships remained as revealed by Coruscant's sun, and none of those ships were firing upon the similarly docile GA vessels that remained a significant force.

Nom Anor grimaced despite himself. So Nas Choka must have seen Onimi's ship blow up, assumed that the Supreme Overlord had died in the blast - which, in a sense, was quite true, Nom Anor reminisced with disgust - and knowing that there had been no further reason for the Yuuzhan Vong to fight, he ordered the ceasefire.

Yes, Nom Anor had contributed to the downfall of the mainstream Yuuzhan Vong order that had been carried out by Shimrra - really Onimi, Nom Anor reminded himself with loathing of the Shamed Ones - with his propagation of the Shamed Ones' _Jeedai_ heresy as Yu'shaa the Prophet. But, just as he felt when he saw GA soldiers and Yuuzhan Vong Hunter battle droids occupying Shimrra's Citadel for that brief time, something in him felt ashamed that he had betrayed his people like this.

Had Nom Anor been a more nobler being, he would have felt regret that he didn't allow himself to die aboard Onimi's ship when it exploded. As it was, though, he knew that there would be tough times ahead, possibly tougher times than any Nom Anor had faced during the war. He felt that for all the humiliation and degradation that he felt when he had scurried among the Shamed Ones following the disastrous Battle of Ebaq 9, which had caused Nom Anor to flee for his life out of fear for being executed under Shimrra's command for the blunder that the battle turned out to be, the cowardly Yuuzhan Vong felt that this would be a time in which he would fear for his life more than ever.

This time, there were no Shamed Ones that he could scurry to; even if he were to be welcomed back as Yu'shaa the Prophet, he would almost immediately receive the attention of the Galactic Alliance, and even if the Shamed Ones were to protest for the sake of their savior, the GA would have no problems arresting him for his war crimes and hauling him off to a sentence that would most certainly lead to an execution.

So, hoping that he had not been spotted by the sensors of any of the GA ships above, he hurried away toward a nearby dilapidated building. Once he was inside, he saw that there was a set of stairs ahead of him that led down into the depths of the planet.

Nom Anor groaned to himself. So it was back to the underworld again, he thought wearily. Maybe he should have just let himself die back aboard Onimi's ship, he half-thought.

But the value that Nom Anor held for his own life was immediately tested by what happened next.

Behind him, the cowardly Yuuzhan Vong heard the shuffling of footsteps and the heavy breathing of someone else. Nom Anor whirled around and found a disgruntled Yuuzhan Vong warrior with a mixture of both hatred and defeat in his eyes.

"Yu'shaa the Prophet," the warrior growled angrily. "Or should I say Nom Anor."

Nom Anor was more curious than scared now; how could this warrior know about who he was? Even if Yu'shaa's face had been shown to Shimrra and the now-defunct Elite of the Yuuzhan Vong, whatever had been shown would have shown the ooglith masquered-features of the hideous Shamed One that Yu'shaa was to his people. The only time when Nom Anor had appeared as Yu'shaa without his masquer was during the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, and he doubted that there would have been any warriors left who saw him there. And if there had, and this warrior was one of them, what was he doing here instead of where Yu'shaa appeared to help the Shamed Ones when the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar occurred?

"I saw you when you helped those Shamed Ones when you finally turned against Shimrra, when he commanded the World Brain to begin the apocalypse of Yuuzhan'tar," the warrior elaborated, as if reading Nom Anor's mind. "And I came here, after Warmaster Choka's announcement that the war had ended and the infidels had won, to see what had happened to my creche-brother."

He turned and pointed to one of the innumerable Yuuzhan Vong bodies scattered around outside. The particular body that the warrior was indicating had his throat slit, and a bloodied couffee was clutched in his right hand, as if sheer effort of will disallowed the now-dead warrior from releasing the weapon even in death.

"He died because of you, _traitor_!" the warrior before Nom Anor screamed. "He took his own life, just as many other Yuuzhan Vong have when Nas Choka reminded us that there was no point in fighting on when the gods had abandoned us!"

"You do not know that," Nom Anor said, his voice surprisingly calm considering the less-than-implied threat that the warrior was offering. "He may have died fighting the infidels; perhaps he had his throat slit by a Shamed One's couffee."

The warrior growled even deeper as his anger increased. "He took his own life. I know it. And it was because of you and your _Jeedai_ heresy that he has died without honor and without the blessing of the gods."

Nom Anor didn't know why, given the circumstances, but he snorted in derision. "The gods never were, warrior. You, your creche-brother, and the rest of your class had been fighting for an empty cause from the very beginning."

The warrior's eyes widened suddenly, and his growl turned into a full-on scream as he rushed at Nom Anor, his own couffee driving straight for the treacherous Vong's throat.

But Nom Anor flickered his eyelid slightly and then had his plaeryin bol, his false eye, spit out a substantial amount of poison right in the incoming warrior's face. The warrior fell to the ground, his entire body immediately rendered numb, and he died bare seconds later from the venom's deadly effects.

Nom Anor half-smiled; on the one hand, he was glad to let off a little steam. On the other hand, he had only wished that he could have controlled the poison in his plaeryin bol itself so that it had only paralyzed the warrior; that way, he could have beat him to death, release his frustrations and anxieties from all that had happened today, before scurrying away like the underdwelling creatures beneath him.

But he decided to do it anyway; he wailed on the corpse, eventually screaming from those frustrations and anxieties, and once he was done, his one hand was incredibly sore, bruised, and even bloodied, though from the black blood of the warrior that he had poisoned, and Nom Anor was panting heavily from the effort. The dead warrior's face itself, however, was so badly bloodied and mangled that it scarcely resembled a Yuuzhan Vong anymore (though it could pass for a Shamed One, Nom Anor thought).

Nevertheless, he had his time to let his emotions get the better of him; now was the time to scurry for safety back in Coruscant's underworld. So he turned back and hurried down the staircase and into the darkness below.


	2. Chapter 2

After many Yuuzhan Vong warships rammed themselves into Galactic Alliance warships, a quiet yet somehow tense ceasefire occurred between the two sides, and it was still ongoing after five days. Warmaster Nas Choka, or rather _former_ Warmaster Nas Choka, of the Vong had called out to the Galactic Alliance and asked to meet with their leaders. As of now, Choka and what remained of his fleet were being investigated by GA military officers to make sure that he wasn't planning anything nefarious, and he and the rest of his fleet were being incredibly compliant and willing, all things considered.

Today, however, that wasn't on the mind of anyone on Zonama Sekot. The funeral of Luke Skywalker was being held. It was a sad time for all in attendance, with the widow crying as her extended family, the Solos - or rather, three of them - vainly tried to comfort her even as they felt the same pain that Mara was feeling. The rest of the Jedi Order and many members of the GA military - a vast majority of the latter being veterans of the Rebel Alliance - had their heads bowed in mourning for whom they believed to be the greatest of all of them. Luke was given two separate eulogies; the first was by GA General Wedge Antilles, who recounted how great of a hero that Luke was as a member of Rogue Squadron, what with him blowing up the first Death Star, his role in leading to Emperor Palpatine's downfall, the establishment of the New Republic, and, of course, his role in the war that had just ended. Wedge followed it all up with a few brief remarks about how great of a guy Luke was to everyone in the Rebellion and concluded with the obvious, "We'll all miss you, Luke," before leaving the podium for Jedi Master Kenth Hamner.

Hamner's speech was even more heartfelt, even though he knew Luke less than Wedge did. Still, in his eulogy for Luke, Hamner emphasized the late Jedi Master's role in establishing the New Jedi Order and how Luke was such an inspiration to every Jedi that has come since he set off on his journey to find candidates for his Jedi Academy. Hamner concluded with:

"I feel utterly humbled to be following in the footsteps of Master Skywalker, as I doubt that I could ever truly replace him in running the Jedi Order. Nevertheless, I vow to do my best, not only for his memory, not only for the dead, which include all of the Jedi who have died in this terrible war, but I vow to do this for the living, for this generation and the generations that will come after. So, Master Skywalker, I have nothing more to say than this: Thank you for all that you have done, not only for the Jedi Order, but for the galaxy at large, and may the Force be with you. You will be missed."

With that, Hamner stepped off the podium, and from the hand of Jedi Knight Saba Sebatyne, he took the torch that she offered and he placed himself one side of the funeral pyre that had Luke Skywalker's prepared body placed upon it. On the other side, Wedge Antilles had another torch that he took from his friend Tycho Celchu, and once both Wedge and Hamner locked eyes, they simultaneously nodded. They then looked down upon Luke's body and placed the flames of the torches on the edges of the pyre and backed away as the fire engulfed Luke's body.

Everyone in attendance looked with forlorn grief as they watched Luke's body burn away to ash.

Yet not everyone who cared about him was there to watch.

.

Angrily, Jaina trudged through the woods of Zonama Sekot and found her sole surviving brother Jacen slumped against a boras-tree as he simply stared up and ahead into the clear blue skies above, his expression sullen.

Momentarily, Jaina wondered if she wouldn't be as hard on her twin brother as she thought she was going to; but she reconsidered, as what he had done earlier today was completely unacceptable.

She closed the gap between them and he looked up at her, as if only now noticing her presence instead of having felt her approach through the Force. She continued to glare down at him with eyes firing lasers at him.

"You weren't at Uncle Luke's funeral," Jaina intoned, her arms crossed upon her chest.

"I heard what Master Hamner and General Antilles said about him," Jacen replied neutrally. "I could hear their voices from their amp speakers from all the way over here. And I saw the fire."

Jaina sighed in irritation. "You were supposed to be there with the rest of us, Jacen. With the rest of the family," she emphasized. "Why weren't you?"

"I didn't deserve to be there, Jaina. I failed Uncle Luke. I wasn't worthy of being at his funeral."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to him," Jaina told him patiently. "It was the venom in Shimrra's amphistaff. _Shimrra_ killed Uncle Luke, Jacen, not you."

"But I could have stopped it, yet I didn't. I had no right to be there."

Jaina looked down at him incredulously. "How _dare_ you! This isn't about you! It was about Uncle Luke! And you sat here like the selfish nerfbrain you are while all of us cried when we needed everyone to be there! We lost Chewie, and we lost Anakin, and we lost so many others, and you think that because you didn't make it on time to save Uncle Luke that you weren't _worthy_ of being there?!" Even as she screamed, tears were already flowing out of Jaina's eyes.

"Selfish? _Selfish_?!" Jacen exclaimed as he sat up. "If I'd actually been there, I _would have_ been selfish! You think I didn't wanna be there? Huh?! _Huh_?! This is my penance, my _punishment_, for letting Uncle Luke die!"

"But you weren't responsible for letting him die, Jacen!" Jaina argued. "No one but Shimrra was, and he already paid for it! And, what, you think I didn't blame myself for Anakin's death, just as you, Tahiri, and everyone else who made it off the _Baanu Rass_? You think none of them blamed themselves, and we still went? You think Dad and Anakin didn't blame themselves when Chewie died? They still went!"

"I wasn't there for Anakin's funeral," Jacen reminded her quietly.

"That was Vergere and the Vong's fault, in case you forgot," Jaina pointed out. "Here, you have _no_ reason or excuse not to be there for Uncle Luke's funeral. This, you can actually blame yourself for."

When silence passed between them, Jacen asked, "I take it everyone else shares your feelings on this matter?"

"Dad does; he says he never wants to see you again for avoiding the funeral. Mom's tryin' to tell him that you need your space, and Aunt Mara couldn't care less since her husband's dead. But I find myself agreeing with Dad; looking at you makes me feel disgusted that you should be so selfish. I gotta admit, I found your philosophical introspection to be charming, but this... You went too far, Jacen. If I ever see you again, you better be on your hands and knees apologizing to everyone for not being at Luke's funeral; you'll have to admit that not everything's about you, because you dishonored everyone who died in the war: all the soldiers in the New Republic, the Galactic Alliance, the Jedi, hell, even the Shamed Ones and the Yuuzhan Vong who decided to turn against Shimrra! So I never wanna see you in my sight until that happens."

With that, Jaina turned and headed back away, and Jacen slumped back down against the boras-tree to sob to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

In the several weeks that had passed since Luke Skywalker's funeral, Jedi Master Kenth Hamner negotiated, alongside Galactic Alliance Chief of State Cal Omas and Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey (who had replaced now-retired Sien Sovv), with former Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster Nas Choka when the latter sued for peace. The conditions were that Choka and all remaining Yuuzhan Vong forces who had not yet committed suicide were to help gather up the Vong stragglers who remained throughout the rest of the aliens' galactic invasion corridor before settling themselves on Zonama Sekot. After that, Sekot would jump out of the Coruscant system and return to the Unknown Regions, primarily for the safety of the remaining Yuuzhan Vong, who were no doubt still targets of the _ar'krai_-declaring Bothans and everyone else who despised the Yuuzhan Vong for their atrocities.

As of yesterday, Choka had kept up his end of the bargain, as all other Yuuzhan Vong were either convinced or coerced into returning to the Coruscant system to live out the rest of their days on Zonama Sekot; those few who had fallen sway to neither chose to die under the combined might of Galactic Alliance and Choka's loyal fleet. Afterwards, once the last of the Yuuzhan Vong had arrived on Zonama, their unmanned warships were directed by GA warships to Coruscant's sun, where they were incinerated, while the rest of the aliens' more personal weapons - their couffees, their amphistaffs, their vonduun crab armor, and even their yammosks - were integrated with Zonama's ecology, just as the weapons of the Vong who first landed by the end of the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar had done.

By the end of the next day, the living planet would commence its return trip to the Unknown Regions, and as such, the inhabitants, both native Ferroan and Yuuzhan Vong - willing and otherwise - alike were preparing their shelters for another rocky journey, this time back to safety and hopefully for good.

And all the while, Jacen had not spoken to anyone in his family since; as bad as he felt for not attending Uncle Luke's funeral, he still believed himself to be in the right for not going, as he still didn't feel as if he was worth it. As a result, he respected Jaina's demand to never talk to her, their parents, or Aunt Mara again, and no one, not even Leia, had even tried to come to him to see if they could make any emotional resolutions.

Instead, Jacen was preparing to go on a sojourn; one in which he would study in other Force-sects across the galaxy, learn new ways of thinking and different techniques that neither the Jedi Order nor Vergere had ever taught him, and he half-hoped that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to forgive himself for not saving Uncle Luke.

As if thinking about Vergere summoned her, the voice of the dead Fosh sounded from behind Jacen, but he wasn't startled; he felt the presence of Sekot, manifested through the incorporeal avatar of a younger Vergere, coalesce itself here to speak to him.

"Pardon me for intruding on you, Jacen," was what the Vergere avatar said, "but I was wondering if there was anything that would change your mind about leaving. Someone like you, I would be more than glad to have live among my people."

Jacen smiled sadly as he turned to regard the avatar. "I'd be glad to have that, too, Sekot. But the fact of the matter remains: even if I didn't have my uncle's death on my conscious, I would still do this. For all the beauty and life that you're responsible for, I'd fear that I wouldn't be getting anywhere else in my life, and that would always taint whatever positive feelings I'd have here. It would take away what I experienced when I attained oneness with the Force in my battle against Onimi." He grimaced as he considered his next words. "Possibly even more so than Uncle Luke's death had. I'm sorry."

Sekot's Vergere avatar looked sad. "What a shame. But it's your decision, Jacen."

"Of course it is. But, hey," he continued in a more upbeat tone, "I hope you manage to give the Yuuzhan Vong back their use of the Force."

"That will take time," Sekot replied morosely. "Possibly generations; I could see you being long dead before the species regains the Force. Of course, that mostly depends on how they, as a group, will be able to accept the peaceful ideals of my global society."

"Sure," Jacen agreed. "It might help that acceptance process along if you tell them your recent self-discovery."

"Yes, of course," Sekot returned with a tone of hopefulness. "My being the spawn of their long-lost homeworld of the true Yuuzhan'tar may have a bearing on how they choose to react to my customs and laws.

"May the Force be with you, Jacen."

"As it will always be with you, Sekot." He then moved toward the door of his hut.

"And, Jacen."

He turned back to face the avatar.

"Do not let self-doubt overwhelm your decisions."

With that final statement, Sekot's avatar of Vergere disappeared into a swirling mist; and Jacen was left with the distinct impression that that really was Vergere, the alien creature who made him into the man he was today, who gave her life to save him, his sister, and their friends from a swarm of Yuuzhan Vong in Ebaq 9.

Earlier in the war, Jacen had been overwrought with doubt in every major action he took, as he feared that with the wrong step, he could plunge himself, and the galaxy, into darkness, into the clutches of the invading Yuuzhan Vong. This manifested itself especially during his time on Duro, when he received a vision of just such a thing happening, which led to a temporary vow on his part of never using the Force again.

It was a vow that he ultimately broke, obviously, as he felt a rare moment of clarity and assurance that brought a humiliating defeat to Warmaster Tsavong Lah. Yet doubt continued to plague Jacen's mind... that was until he was captured by Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong.

By their hands, Jacen underwent an unspeakably torturous process that challenged his views on his own sanity and on the nature of the Force itself, and he returned to the New Republic, which later became the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, a man plagued less by doubt than ever before. Yes, he had his moments here and there where he still wasn't a hundred percent certain about what the right course of action was to take, but in the end, it was the confidence that Vergere helped develop within himself that allowed him to stop Onimi and finally end the war.

So why would Vergere tell him not to let self-doubt overwhelm his decisions?

It was because of Uncle Luke's death, he knew. Even after achieving oneness with the Force, even after defeating the greatest evil that the Yuuzhan Vong had to offer, Luke's passing by Shimrra's amphistaff poison returned doubt into Jacen's mind. Now, more than ever, when contemplation was what Jacen could afford in this new peaceful era, he had to sort himself out, and it was through this necessary sojourn.

He stepped out of the hut that was provided to him by Magister Jabitha Hal and walked out of the Ferroan village to head to the outskirts, where a YT-2400 awaited him.

As he traveled out of the village, Jacen ran into Danni Quee who stepped out from her own hut and interceded in his path.

"Leaving already?" she asked.

Jacen shrugged. "Not much time to leave before this planet leaves, Danni. Now's as good a time as any."

Danni raised an eyebrow when she saw that Jacen's hands were unoccupied. "Talk about travelin' light, eh?"

"I don't have anything I need aside from this," he replied as he fingered the lightsaber hanging on his belt. "Everything else I'll need will be on the transport that'll get me outta here."

Danni nodded. "I hope you'll find what you're looking for then, Jacen."

Jacen returned the nod. "And I hope you do well here on Zonama. May the Force be with you, Danni."

"And with you, Jacen," Danni said as she proffered her hand.

Jacen shook it, his eyes never leaving Danni's, until the handshake ended five awkward seconds later. Another moment of silent awkwardness ensued, which promptly ended with Danni finally stepping out of the way and allowing Jacen to continue on his way.

After some distance had been covered between himself and Danni, Jacen allowed himself a mild sigh. He and Danni were good friends, had always been since he rescued her from the dark, cold recesses of Helska 4 where she and the late Miko Reglia had been held captive by Yuuzhan Vong Prefect Da'Gara and his Praetorite Vong at the beginning of the war. But there were times when Jacen felt like he and Danni could have been more than that; when he broached the subject with her, sometime prior to the Battle of Dantooine, she used a scientific analogy - an analogy that had been dumbed down for Jacen's benefit - involving liquids under pressure or something along those lines that basically told him that she appreciated him more as a friend.

However, after he had returned with Vergere from his captivity under the Yuuzhan Vong, Jacen and Danni became somewhat closer as friends, and they found themselves caring a little more for each other during their search for Zonama Sekot with Luke, Mara, Tekli, Saba Sebatyne, and the Imperial escort that Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon gave them on their hunt through the Unknown Regions.

But then they finally found Zonama Sekot, and even as Sekot agreed to help end the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, Danni decided that her destiny was with the living planet; she found herself fascinated by the world that she thought was only a myth, and she wanted to discover more of it through its ecology and whatever else it had to offer. And so, with that decision, and with the mounting preparations that were to be made for the living planet to leave the Unknown Regions and aid the Galactic Alliance in toppling the Yuuzhan Vong Elite, there had been no further time for Jacen and Danni to explore their feelings for each other.

So be it, Jacen ultimately concluded. Her path was here, his wasn't. If he were to stay here, he feared that he would never leave; as he told Sekot, he felt that he would stagnate under the beauty and splendor that the living world had to offer, and that he wouldn't be able to grow as a Jedi - more importantly, as a person - if he were to allow Sekot to take him back to the Unknown Regions with Danni, Tekli, Tahiri, and all the Ferroans and Yuuzhan Vong here.

Continuing wordlessly on his journey to the YT, he paused when he saw Tahiri Veila and Tekli approaching him, though their expressions and Force-presences indicated that they were in a dour mood. Thankfully, it was more directed inward - he was honestly glad that they wouldn't harry him with criticisms of not being at Luke's funeral, as Jaina had done - but he decided to see what was on the two women's mind.

He wondered why they would be in such a bad mood, anyway. Notwithstanding the harsh times that would come with Zonama Sekot's no-doubt dreadful travel through hyperspace, Jacen would think that Tahiri and Tekli would be happy with their decision to stay on the living planet, since Tekli would get to study the ecology of Zonama with Danni while Tahiri could help the Yuuzhan Vong here to recover the Force.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked them.

"You may ask Master Hamner," Tekli said. "Goodbye, Jacen; have a safe journey."

"Bye, Jacen," Tahiri followed up in an isolated sort of way. It was something that had been characteristic of Tahiri even after she had merged her own personality with that of the implanted Riina Kwaad personality that the late heretical Yuuzhan Vong Master Shaper Mezhan Kwaad had implanted into her mind years ago.

"Well, uh... may the Force be with you two," he said uncertainly to their departing forms.

"The same to you, Jacen," Tekli politely said when she momentarily turned back to regard him.

Tahiri only turned back to give him a short, reciprocating nod.

Jacen's gaze narrowed at the two departing women, then he returned to his path for the YT-2400 that he would pilot off of Zonama, wondering if he would encounter Master Hamner, as Tekli suggested. Jacen thought about raising Hamner's comm frequency on his own commlink, but he decided against it when he felt the Jedi Master's presence in the distance.

Once he reached the YT-2400 minutes later, he found, as expected, the stoic form of Kenth Hamner standing in the way.

"Hello, Master Hamner."

"Jedi Solo. If you wish to retain that title, and remain a part of this Order, you will accompany the rest of the Jedi fleet back to the new Galactic Alliance capital of Denon."

Jacen looked at Hamner curiously, Tekli's comment about the Jedi Master rising back into his mind again. "But... I already made my intentions known that I would be going on my sojourn."

"Of course you did. But if you wish to pursue that sojourn, Jedi Solo, you will have to resign from the Jedi Order."

"Why?"

"The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances is in a state of recovery in the aftermath of this war, Jedi Solo," Hamner reminded him. "And they will need the aid of every Jedi in the Order if it is to recover to the heights that the New Republic had reached prior to the invasion. Those who will not contribute, like Tahiri Veila and Tekli, will have no choice but to renounce their positions in the Order."

"That's not fair," Jacen said.

"Actually, this is quite fair," Hamner argued in an aristocratic way. "Chief of State Omas, Supreme Commander Kre'fey, and I all agree that it's a fair arrangement. We can't be having slouches in the ranks of the Jedi Order siphoning the government's support in this time of healing."

"The Jedi aren't just agents for the government, Master Hamner," Jacen returned. "They're agents to themselves, to the galaxy, and, most importantly, to the Force."

"I completely agree with that, Jedi Solo. However, at this point, in order for there to be a stable form of peace in the galaxy in the wake of this tragic war, the Galactic Alliance will need to heal along with it, and the government must simultaneously extend its power to support those who are in need because of what the Yuuzhan Vong have done to their homes, to their friends and families, to everyone who has felt the invaders' wrath."

"So we're just supposed to be government puppets, huh? Yeah, that went _so_ well for the Jedi in Yoda's time, eh?" Jacen spat.

Hamner grimaced. "Jedi Solo, if you wish to continue to be a part of this Order, you will-"

"I don't have to do anything, Hamner," Jacen interrupted. "I quit."

Hamner's eyebrows beetled in mild surprise.

"I quit," Jacen repeated. "Just as you want."

Hamner then stepped out of the way. "Have a good sojourn, Jacen. And may the Force be with you."

Even with the antagonism that had just formed between himself and Hamner, Jacen couldn't help but reply with, "May the Force be with you, too, Master Hamner; and I hope you do what's best for the Jedi and the rest of the galaxy."

No more words were exchanged between them as Jacen finally boarded the YT-2400, and Hamner left to head off in the direction of a GA transport that would take him off of Zonama.

Jacen, however, didn't start the YT-2400's engine for several minutes, because after he sat down in the pilot seat, he banged both fists angrily on the inactive control console before him, screaming in rage as he vented the frustrations that he was now feeling for having relinquished his Jedi status like that.

He didn't know how it came to him so easily; it should have been much harder for him, he thought. He should have argued with Hamner a lot more; he should have gotten into a prolonged, heated debate with the older man about what the Jedi should be doing for themselves and the galaxy. But that didn't happen; instead, he knew, as if by instinct, that he wouldn't want to be a part of that Order. He had already made the decision to take the sojourn, and nothing was going to change that.

Once Jacen finally calmed down, his fists red from the beating off the metal console before him, he took a moment of contemplation as he wondered if what Vergere - and he knew it was Vergere - had said to him about self-doubt overwhelming his decisions had unconsciously influenced him to leave the Order like that.

If that was the case, Jacen thought, then he was scared of what kind of other reckless, impulsive decisions he would make with the removal of that self-doubt.


	4. Chapter 4

Stepping out from the building that he hid in, Nom Anor looked up in the daylight sky of the Galactic Alliance's retaken Coruscant and watched as the living world of Zonama Sekot, hanging silhouetted up there, simply vanished into nothingness.

Nom Anor allowed himself a quiet sigh of relief; so he had avoided getting captured, he thought, and was thus believed to be dead after all. He didn't know how or why, but he avoided the capture that would have most likely brought him a death sentence for all that he had done instead of joining the rest of his species on Zonama Sekot. And since he had been living underground, away from whatever sensors or search parties that the Galactic Alliance had on any remaining Yuuzhan Vong here on Coruscant, he could only assume that Zonama Sekot had been here for so much time after Shimrra and Onimi's deaths because the remainders of Nom Anor's people were being gathered up from across the galaxy.

It had been strange that the Galactic Alliance and their allies, which included the likes of the Imperial Remnant, the Chiss Ascendancy, and even the forces that were loyal to the no-doubt defeatist Nas Choka, hadn't been as thorough in their searches on this planet; after all, they could have found and caught Nom Anor unawares. So, if that were the case, then who knew how many more Yuuzhan Vong remained here on Coruscant? Or throughout the rest of the galaxy for that matter? Nom Anor doubted that Zonama Sekot and its galactic allies were able to have collected every single living Yuuzhan Vong throughout the galaxy, and there were ways in which his people could subvert whatever search methods that the Galactic Alliance had.

At least that was what he hoped. He doubted that there could be negligence on the part of the GA that he was allowed to continue to roam through the underworld of Coruscant, subsisting on small animals that he knew were safe to eat once they were properly cooked on a fire and from a few reservoirs of water that Nom Anor found and learned were safe to drink from. Was it because of the physical properties of this building that somehow negated the sensors of whatever ships were looking for Yuuzhan Vong stragglers?

Nom Anor knew that certain materials, such as lead, were able to block out radiation, so was this building constructed of some kind of material that protected his biological readings from showing up on their sensors? If so, Nom Anor would think that the Galactic Alliance would send over at least one search party to investigate whatever this building was hiding. Or were the properties of this building simply giving whatever lifesign readings incorrect data so that the results came back negative in spite of Nom Anor's occupation of the dilapidated building?

Whatever the case, Nom Anor was internally grateful that the Galactic Alliance had been unable to locate and imprison him so that he could be executed for everything that he was responsible for in the war, his contribution to the elite's downfall as Yu'shaa the Prophet notwithstanding. Sure, it was a hard life living on those rodents and all that somehow clean water that seemed to be flowing from somewhere among Coruscant, but at least he was free. Although he felt that he would have preferred if he was back as Yu'shaa, lording over those gullible Shamed Ones who really thought that he was a divine prophet, and who provided him with pleasures that could be afforded by the lower castes, Nom Anor was still glad that he hadn't been caught.

It was, however, a lonely existence; at least when he was Yu'shaa, he had consorts in the likes of Kunra and even the treacherous Shoon-mi Esh, among others, never mind the Shamed Ones and workers who bowed at his feet. Even for someone like Nom Anor who didn't care much for other people, he still wished that he had some sentient company; the animals that he heartily devoured down in the labyrinths of this building obviously didn't count as company.

He did wonder, though, how long it would be until he was caught, if he was caught at all; since the Galactic Alliance had retaken Coruscant, he would think that there would have been ships that would have come down here and started to repopulate the planet under Galactic Alliance rule. And while there were a few ships that came down here and there, nothing ever seemed to come of them. They weren't a vanguard of the Galactic Alliance finally settling down upon what was once theirs or anything; Nom Anor half-considered leaving his protective building to investigate the landing ships, but ultimately decided against it for the simple reason that safety, even under a substandard style of living, was still better than winding up captured or killed by GA forces.

Turning, Nom Anor headed back into the building and returned to where he could have his cooked rodent and cup of clean water; he wondered how he did get clean water, anyway. He figured that maybe it was because of one of his people's biological installations on this planet that, for whatever reason, tended to purify the sewage systems of Coruscant. Considering how he was living now, Nom Anor didn't mind that.

Upon arriving back in the bowels of the building, Nom Anor stopped in his tracks when he saw someone else already eating his cooked rodent: a female Yuuzhan Vong warrior, her vonduun crab armor and inert amphistaff placed off to her left side of the corridor in which she ate the rat. She looked up in the midst of her chewing and found the other occupant of the building gazing back at her.

Well, at least that answered the question of whether or not there were any other Yuuzhan Vong remaining on Coruscant.

The warrior finished her chewing, swallowed what was supposed to be the other Yuuzhan Vong's food, and growled, "Nom Anor. It seems that the rumor of your demise was blatantly false."

"Who are you?" Nom Anor demanded. "Why are you here?"

"Trying to survive because of what you helped do to our people as Yu'shaa the Prophet, Nom Anor," the warrior returned, ignoring his first question. "It was difficult to subvert the search strategies of the infidels and their treacherous Vong cohorts."

To call someone a "Vong" without the "Yuuzhan" was an insult to the recipient in the same vain as being a Shamed One. The warrior had obviously disowned everyone who followed Nas Choka's decree of allying with the Galactic Alliance.

"I could only imagine," Nom Anor replied. "I have been living down here just as the war ended. I don't suppose you, as a warrior who still retains her honor, would wish to avenge the system that our people followed and take up this place as your own?" He had his plaeriyn bol ready to use, just as he used it to kill that other warrior weeks earlier.

"If I did," the warrior replied, "you would already be dead."

Nom Anor looked at her curiously. "You mean you wish to share this place with me?"

"The rule of the Yuuzhan Vong is no more and too many of our people have died for gods who had abandoned us," the warrior said. "To kill you for petty revenge would be absolutely pointless." She stood up, wiped the grease of the rodent meat on her pant legs, and approached him to stop a meter from his wary figure.

"So, yes, I do wish to live with you here," the warrior continued. "We would do well to help each other."

"Resources are not exactly plentiful enough down here," Nom Anor pointed out. "You could just kill me, or I could just kill you, and whoever lives will be able to take care of him- or herself."

"Perhaps," the warrior replied neutrally. "Or perhaps we could find resources elsewhere from this underworld and see how we could go on living, maybe improve our own conditions, if even in small ways."

Nom Anor's gaze became more suspicious. "Fair enough. But why would you want to live with _me_? As you pointed out, I was responsible for the proliferation of the _Jeedai_ heresy. As well, I believe you are familiar with my reputation as an untrustworthy individual."

"Too true, on both counts," the warrior agreed. "So, for your role as Yu'shaa..."

She trailed off as she smacked her fist across his face, sending him stumbling to the floor.

The next thing he knew, a hand yanked out the plaeryin bol from his empty eye socket.

"And this is to facilitate a measurable degree of trust between us," she said as held up the plaeriyn bol before him. She then pocketed the venom-spitting biot before offering him the very same hand, now empty.

As could be expected, he looked at that hand in suspicion, but he eventually grabbed his one hand upon her and allowed her to help him back up.

"I am Kun Eruk," the warrior introduced herself. "And I will be your ally in surviving down here, Nom Anor."


	5. Chapter 5

Meditating, Jacen sat on the floor of his cabin aboard the YT-2400, which he took to calling the _Solo Quest_, to try to clear his mind as the ship traversed through hyperspace. It was taking Jacen to the first destination of his sojourn: the planet of Dorin, home of the Baran Do Sages and the Kel Dor species.

Jacen had programmed his cabin's chrono to ring and bring him out of his meditation a few minutes before the _Quest_ was scheduled to drop out of hyperspace, or if the ship had run into an unexpected gravitational anomaly and was forced to commence an emergency dropout. So as it was now, Jacen had a few hours before he would reach Dorin, and he was using that time to try to center himself after everything that had happened since the war ended.

Uncle Luke's death, Jacen's family pretty much disowning him for missing Luke's funeral, and quitting the Jedi Order was creating havoc on Jacen's mind. He was trying to find some measure of inner peace within himself when he wasn't busy with other things. But try as he might, he constantly found himself getting ever more and more frustrated with himself, as his guilt over what happened to Uncle Luke kept on eating at Jacen's thoughts like a parasite. Of course, the grief only made things worse.

He needed to vent, to truly take out his frustrations; but how could he do that when there was nothing that he could do? What _could_ he do, after all, aside from taking this sojourn?

He felt nothing but turmoil in himself. Somehow, even as peace reigned across the galaxy, Jacen Solo felt conflicted now more than he had ever before during the war. In a way, it was as if the war had given him a measure of internal peace, as there were options that were available that he could take to do something. Now there were no other options to take; no battles to fight, no missions to execute, nothing. It was just him and his own thoughts, and in this time of tranquility, he felt more helplessly conflicted than ever, and meditations could never help him take his mind off that conflict. In fact, they only centered his fears and anxieties over failing to save Uncle Luke, and he could find no suitable connection to the Force that could help bring him into harmony from within.

The meditations only provided nightmarish visions of the past, of the war that occurred; he saw events that he was a part of and events that he wasn't a part of. Jacen saw Yomin Carr kill the scientists on Belkaden and poison the planet's atmosphere; he saw Danni Quee and Miko Reglia tortured in the underground ice caverns of Helska 4; he saw Shedao Shai killing Elegos A'Kla, nearly pushing Corran Horn to the dark side of the Force, and Jacen began to think that maybe there was a dark side after all; he saw Ithor burn; he saw the devastation of Fondor, the capture of Duro, Tsavong Lah declaring a bounty on the heads of all Jedi, the destruction of Yavin's Jedi Praxeum, the Yuuzhan Vong's taking of Coruscant; Jacen saw the deaths of so many Jedi, such as Miko, Daeshara'cor, Wurth Skidder, the victims of the voxyn... Chewie... Anakin.

Jacen saw himself having to fight and kill so many Yuuzhan Vong; his capture by Nom Anor and Vergere; his subsequent torture, the challenge to his beliefs...

He saw it all, and his meditations had made him sweat in horror, as he saw every time he snapped back into physical reality.

Right then, he did so, and as expected, his clothes were drenched in sweat. He looked at his cabin's chrono and found that he still had a couple of hours or so before he had to drop out.

Sighing, he picked himself up, got rid of his clothes, showered, and had some refreshing water and a meatpak from the _Solo Quest_'s galley.

As he ate, he looked around the otherwise empty table and imagined the rest of his family there; and not just his family who was still alive. He saw Chewie, Anakin, and Uncle Luke all there with him, laughing and feasting in a celebratory victory dinner on Kashyyyk, how they were able to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong without any personal losses, sacrifices, or drastic changes to themselves.

Before he departed from Zonama Sekot a day earlier, he met up with Lowbacca, who was still willing to talk to him in spite of his missing Luke's funeral. The Wookiee had only come to tell him goodbye, gave him the typical "May the Force be with you" mantra, and told Jacen that he would miss him, just as Jacen would miss Lowbacca. But before they set off, Lowie had told him something that only made things harder for Jacen.

[I will miss you, especially, my friend], Lowie had roared softly, [considering that you will not be there at the feast].

"Feast? What feast?" Jacen had asked.

[The feast celebrating my Uncle Chewbacca's sacrifice on Sernpidal], Lowie informed him, [and the end of the war].

Thinking back on that now, Jacen couldn't help but think about his family eating and celebrating back on Kashyyyk, right now. But he wasn't quite so sure, as he wasn't on good terms with them to be talking to his sister, parents, or aunt. Still, he thought about it, and he wondered if they missed him in spite of his audacity for missing Uncle Luke's funeral.

By the end of his meal, Jacen discarded the empty meatpak and drained water bottle in the _Quest_'s waste incinerator, which was just on the left side of the exit from the galley, before he headed on toward the cockpit. There, he sat down and decided to look out through the forward viewport at the hyperspace lines rushing past, hoping that maybe this would take his mind off of those visions and what he felt when it came to Uncle Luke.

Surprisingly, it worked... well, sort of. His lingering thoughts about his feeling of responsibility over Luke's death were still at the back of his mind, but the sight of the hyperspace lines scrolling past the viewport made him think of Zonama Sekot and its own journey back to the Unknown Regions. And with that connective thought, he couldn't help but think back to Danni Quee, wondering if she was okay and not knowing why he was citing her out specifically. On some level, yes, he was concerned about Tahiri, Tekli, Harrar, Sekot, and generally everyone else, hoping that they could make it through that journey alive. Jacen expected that if they were all to perish in some catastrophe - such as Zonama getting too close to a star or something like that - he would feel the mass deaths that would occur even from far across the galaxy.

Though Jacen wondered if he would be able to sense what happened to Danni, wondered if she were to get hurt or die because she had not been safe from whatever trials and tribulations that Zonama Sekot encountered in its journey. The two of them hadn't been able to develop a strong bond emotionally, which would entail a strong Force-bond.

But then he remembered that he had been able to sense her pain through the Force as she was tortured within Helska 4 when he was over at Dubrillion. Could he still feel what happened to her even as the physical distance between them grew farther and farther?

Jacen hoped so; he still cared about Danni. But at times like this, when he thought about the fact that he was able to feel her from such a distance back then, he wondered if leaving her, and, of course, Zonama, was a mistake; that he should be on that planet right now as it went back to the Unknown Regions, and that he should be with Danni...

He didn't think long, as the ship's proximity alert beeped, warning Jacen that the _Quest_ was about to drop out of hyperspace. He readied the ship and pulled back the hyperdrive lever, plunging the YT-2400 into the Dorin system.

Instead of a voice coming in from the _Quest_'s comm board, Jacen felt a presence reach out to him through the Force.

_Identify yourself and state your intentions_, a deep voice commanded in Jacen's mind.

Jacen hesitated, finding it quite unusual for someone to communicate to him this directly through the Force instead of just using a commlink.

_Well, come now_, the same voice repeated. _Don't be shy_. Jacen couldn't help but note that there was a hint of wit behind that tone.

_Uh..._ he sent out through the Force. _This is Jedi..._ He wasn't a Jedi anymore, he reminded himself. _This is Jacen Solo, and I have come here to learn from the Baran Do Sages._

_Did you say that you were a Jedi, Jacen Solo?_

_I was. But not anymore_. Jacen hoped that the other voice wouldn't press him for why.

_Interesting. Why do you wish to learn from the Sages, Jacen?_

_I want to broaden my view of the Force_, Jacen's reply came so easily. He had practically rehearsed this line quite a number of times now, as it was one of the few activities that kept his mind even remotely away from his guilt and grief. _I want to learn and grow as a person, more so than I already have_.

_Intriguing_, came the reply. _Very well. Allow me to introduce myself then. I am Sage Master Koro Ziil. You have my permission to make planetfall on Dorin; you may come in and land any way you wish, as it will not matter._

_Wait, why won't it matter?_

Jacen received no response.

Squaring his shoulders, he piloted the _Solo Quest_ forward and in a matter of minutes, he breached the atmosphere.

By the time he had made it through to the stratosphere, Koro Ziil's voice returned to Jacen's mind.

_Release control of your ship._

_What?!_ Jacen asked incredulously.

_Do it. This is the part where you allow us to help you._

_Us?_

_Yes, us._

Ziil's voice was gone again, and Jacen, seeing no other choice but to comply, warily took his hands off the helm and killed the attitude thrusters.

But instead of plummeting to the ground thousands of klicks below, the _Quest_ stayed put in the air, and Jacen felt several Force-presences taking control of his ship. Slowly, steadily, their combined Force-grasp lowered Jacen down toward the top of a building after a few minutes. The building's roof opened up, and the _Quest_ was lowered inside before it finally settled onto the floor of what looked like a hangar deck, though it was empty of any other ships.

_Now wait_, Ziil commanded.

Jacen didn't argue this time and sat back in the pilot chair, hoping that whatever would happen next wouldn't take too long. He didn't want to sink back into his depressing thoughts again.

Ten minutes after landing, though, which seemed a little too long for Jacen's taste, he saw a door at the other end of the empty hangar open up, and a group of about a dozen Kel Dors walked inside and headed toward the _Quest_.

As they approached, Jacen took a moment to regard their appearances. He had never seen a Kel Dor without a breathing mask or protective goggles on, as they were known to wear such things since they weren't able to deal with the relatively heavy airs of other worlds and space stations with air quality that were fit for most other species in the galaxy; Dorin's atmosphere was comprised of helium and a special gas that was rarely, if ever, found on other worlds throughout the galaxy, so they had no choice but to wear those goggles and masks when traveling off their homeworld.

Looking at them now, he hated to think it, but the Kel Dors were honestly quite ugly. Their fleshy, wrinkled heads were predominantly marked by the gaping maw that was present where a nose and mouth would be on a human or most other humanoid species and their black, iris-less eyes. Running on both sides of their faces were dual fleshy attachments that terminated at the bottom with sharp tusks.

The aliens stopped halfway between the _Quest_ and the still-open exit behind them, and Koro Ziil's voice reappeared in Jacen's mind. _If you wish to be taught under us, Jacen Solo, you would do well to keep those kind of thoughts to yourself; because if I were to be honest, many members of my people, myself included, do not find humans and other species like them to be all that attractive_.

Jacen blushed from embarrassment; he forgot that Ziil could communicate with him at telepathic levels. _My apologies, Master Ziil,_ the human communed hastily. _I didn't mean to make you feel insulted_.

_Apology accepted, _Ziil replied in a tone that did not take offense so much as amusement. _Now, if you will, please close off your cockpit from the rest of the ship and then lower your boarding ramp_. As the Sage Master communed this, the Kel Dor on his left put on a breath mask and a pair of goggles that the species was so well-known for throughout wherever else they went in the rest of the galaxy.

_Of course_, Jacen replied, and he pressed a button on the console that sealed the cockpit shut from the rest of the ship. With another button push, the boarding ramp lowered to the deck, and the goggled-and-masked Kel Dor approached the boarding ramp.

Once the Kel Dor was aboard, Ziil sent forth, _Now close the boarding ramp, vent the gases that have come aboard your ship, and then open your cockpit up again_.

Jacen complied with all of the instructions, and with the last one, he stood up and looked at the Kel Dor who boarded. The alien held up the human-fitted breath mask and goggles that he had in his hands up to Jacen.

Taking the wordless cue, Jacen fitted the mask and goggles over his face, and immediately, fresh air was pumped into his lungs, and carbon dioxide was just as fairly filtered out.

"If you will follow me," the Kel Dor said with an inviting wave.

Jacen followed his guide to the back of the ship, where he opened the ship back up to Dorin's atmosphere and allowed the Kel Dor to continue leading him. Once Jacen was on the deck with him, Ziil, and the other Kel Dors, he had the boarding ramp closed up and locked and continued to follow his guide, who took the now-unnecessary mask and goggles off his own face, toward the Kel Dor at the middle of the gathering.

"Jacen Solo," the Kel Dor who met Jacen aboard the _Quest_ said, "allow me to introduce you to Sage Master Koro Ziil." The guide then mimed a bow, and Jacen took that as the hint to bow before Ziil, just as the latter followed up with his own respectful bow.

"Welcome to Dorin, Jacen Solo," Ziil intoned, "and to the Order of the Baran Do Sages.

"You may follow us now."

The Kel Dors all turned and headed to the exit even as Jacen's guide joined them, and the human himself followed in their wake.


	6. Chapter 6

In the four days after Nom Anor and Kun Eruk met, the two of them began to set off in other passageways and corridors that extended beyond the underground of their protective building; it would take them two hours to find these other sources of food and water and another two hours to get back to the corridor that they called home. At the end of the day, however, they were able to drink clean water and eat well-cooked rodents and other small animals without the fear of getting an infection or any diseases from their prey.

And all the while, Nom Anor kept his one eye on Eruk, constantly suspicious of her motivations. What did the warrior have planning for him? He found it almost impossible to believe that she, a warrior who proclaimed to adhere to the now-dead traditions of the fallen Yuuzhan Vong Empire, would so willingly work with him for the sake of survival.

Nevertheless, she pulled nothing against him; it seemed as if she was genuine about her intentions of working with the former Prefect of this planet so that they could each go on living. But Nom Anor would always stay behind Eruk, who offered no rebuts or complaints about the arrangement.

The only comment that she made about this structure that, whenever they went out looking for food and water, Nom Anor had imposed was, "If it will make you less suspicious, then you may take up the lead. Just know that I have eyes at the back of my head, just as Yun-Shuno has a thousand eyes to look everywhere, and I can react in time to stop whatever you may have planning against _me_."

Nom Anor was content that they had this arrangement and her willing compliance. If it weren't for their conditions, and Nom Anor's natural suspicion when it came to anybody but himself, he would have felt reasonably comfortable; he was certainly a lot more comfortable than he had been as Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, and that was back when he knew that he had enemies in the likes of High Prefect Drathul, whom he had the pleasure of strangling to death during the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar.

That shakeable but fair comfort was put to the test on their fourth day of knowing each other when they turned a corner in the labyrinth and found another Yuuzhan Vong ahead of them. The two parties stopped and regarded each other warily, and Nom Anor took note that the stranger was dressed as a low-ranking Shaper.

From his nervous posture, Nom Anor could tell that the Shaper was scared of them, and saw them as hostile; and Nom Anor was sure that Eruk saw that in their charge's stance, too.

The Shaper immediately grabbed for the villip that was on the waist-sash of his belt. But Eruk was already on the move, for her hand blurred as it grabbed out a razor bug from a pouch on her belt and she cast it forward, where it went whizzing and slashed the villip out of the Shaper's hand, sending both pieces of the biot to the ground, before he could raise anyone on the other end.

After the razor bug returned into Eruk's grasp, the Shaper uttered a panicked squeal and turned to rush away. But Eruk cast the razor bug again and it struck the stranger in the back of his lower left leg, and he fell, collapsing to the ground, screaming in pain.

Nom Anor followed Eruk as the warrior approached the downed Shaper, yanked the razor bug out of his leg, replaced it in her pouch, grabbed some fabric off the Shaper's robe, ripped it apart from the rest of the living cloth, and tied it around the wounded Shaper's leg before she finally turned him onto his back.

"You are a pathetic Vong," she cursed him. "You squeal in pain instead of embracing it?!"

"There is no point to embracing it!" the Shaper protested in pained mewls. "I only live to help the Galactic Alliance return Coruscant to the artificial city world that it once was! It is all I can do to help repay what our people have done in the name of the empty cause that was the gods!"

Eruk gave the Shaper a backhanded slap across the face. "The gods may have abandoned us, but when we fought for them, it was righteous! Working for the infidels is no excuse for becoming a traitor! Not when we may still have a chance of reclaiming what we lost, and that is the gods' will!"

"The gods never were! His former Eminence Harrar even admitted it; he even blatantly stated, when he spoke to Nas Choka with the Galactic Alliance leadership at the peace treaty, that Yun-Yammka was an outright forgery on the part of the priests!"

Eruk was about to begin punching the Shaper to death before he said that last sentence. This gave the warrior pause. But she gritted her teeth and was prepared to slam her fist down upon the Shaper's face.

"It is a lie!" she proclaimed.

"No, it is not."

Eruk turned back and looked at Nom Anor with incredulity over what he just said.

But he met her gaze with unflinching resolve. "We, the Yuuzhan Vong, have been following lies. Nen Yim has discovered this; Mezhan Kwaad discovered this; Harrar discovered this; I had discovered it."

"What proof do you have of this?" Eruk demanded.

"The gods would have never abandoned us after all we had done for them. We took so much from whom you still deem to be infidels; we never deserved defeat. They would have never allowed me to cultivate the _Jeedai_ heresy. They would have never allowed Shimrra to go insane die and so ignobly. And they would have never allowed a crazed Shamed One to be the true Supreme Overlord."

At this, even the pained and frightened Shaper perked up at what Nom Anor had said.

"What madness do you speak?!" Eruk cried out.

"Shimrra's Shamed familiar, Onimi," Nom Anor elaborated. "Surely, if you have not seen him, you would have certainly heard about him. The fact that Shimrra had a Shamed One as his court jester for amusement." He snorted. "As if that were the case. Onimi had the powers of the Force; I saw for myself. And he had been using the powers of the _Jeedai_ to influence Shimrra's mind, thus dictating the actions that our people took in the invasion."

Quickly, Eruk unsheathed her couffee from one of her belt pouches, rushed up at Nom Anor, and spun him around so that his back was facing the wall off to his left.

"You _lie_!" Eruk accused him as she held the couffee blade up to his throat. "That is all you have in your reputation! Lies, deceit, trickery, the very things that followers of Yun-Harla would have in abundance!"

"But you believe me, do you not?" Nom Anor inquired. "I can see it in your eyes, Eruk. You know, deep down within yourself, that the gods did not abandon us... _because they never existed_."

Eruk's hold on Nom Anor's throat wavered as she concentrated on staring into his one eye. Growling, she ultimately decided to pull the couffee away from his neck and backed up, a look of utter defeat and despair in her expression. She then walked up against the wall behind her and sullenly sank to the ground, her eyes on the rough floor beneath her.

After all this time, Kun Eruk had realized that what Nom Anor and the Shaper were saying was true; that she had been fighting for a false religion, and that everything that she committed, all the killings that she was personally responsible for, all the losses that she herself endured during the war, was all for naught.

Nom Anor left her to be as he returned his attention to the still-downed Shaper.

"You tried to call somebody to let them know that there were two unwanted Yuuzhan Vong down here," Nom Anor stated. "Who did you try to contact?"

Before the Shaper could respond, Nom Anor remembered that he needed leverage in case the other tried to lie to him. So he turned back to Eruk, grabbed the couffee out of her apathetic grasp, and bared the blade up to the Shaper's view.

"Well?" Nom Anor asked.

The Shaper grimaced. "I was about to inform Master Shaper Qelah Kwaad."

"I see. And what would Master Shaper Kwaad have done with this information?"

The Shaper swallowed nervously. "She would have informed the overseeing Galactic Alliance forces about your presences and you would have been either captured or killed, depending on whether or not you resisted their forces."

"Very well. So you, Master Shaper Kwaad, and presumably other Shapers remain here on Coruscant to help the Galactic Alliance restore this planet to the city world that it had been; makes sense, I suppose. Of course, I suppose this means that the Galactic Alliance will not be resettling here?"

"They will not," the Shaper answered. "Our projections state that it may take a century for Coruscant to return to its former state."

"Where are they settling now, out of curiosity?" Nom Anor asked.

"I am not privy to that information, nor is anyone else among the Yuuzhan Vong who remain here. The Galactic Alliance representatives here have been secretive about where their new capital is."

"I could see that. So, tell me, if I were to let you go, would you inform Master Kwaad about my friend and I?" Nom Anor asked as he indicated the sulking Eruk.

"I would have to," the Shaper answered honestly.

Nom Anor bared the couffee again. "Wrong answer."

He moved to kill the Shaper with the knife when the downed Yuuzhan Vong proclaimed, "Wait! Wait! You do know that if you kill me, my superiors will get suspicious and will investigate where I last reported in, which was here just before I ran into the two of you!"

"Then simply do not mention us when you return to wherever you came from," Nom Anor demanded.

The Shaper shook his head. "I cannot do that even if I wanted to. The Galactic Alliance representatives are not trusting of the Shapers here. They have those abominable Hunter droids of theirs that can read our lifesigns and determine whether or not we are lying about anything, such as what happened to my personal villip." He pointed to the two pieces of the communication biot lying just ahead of him.

Nom Anor grimaced. "In that case..." He trailed off and fell on top of the Shaper, slitting his throat and pinning him down with both his blade-wielding hand and the stump of his other hand as the life drained away from the downed Yuuzhan Vong. Once the Shaper was gone, Nom Anor placed the couffee in the corpse's right hand, then stood up, turned back to Eruk, and hurried over to her.

He nudged her out of her sulking and when she mustered the willpower to look up at him, he said, "We have to go."

With an expression that conveyed nothing of her emotional state, she stood up and allowed him to lead as they headed back down the way they came... a path that would take them out of here.


	7. Chapter 7

"You are doing better, Jacen," Koro Ziil told his guest. "You actually managed to hold the sphere up off the plate for a full ten seconds. This is an improvement."

In spite of Ziil's compliment, Jacen didn't feel any better for it, but he gave a resounding "Thank you," and a respectful nod. He and the Sage Master were seated on the floor of the Baran Do Temple's Training Hall, where it was just the two of them and no other Kel Dors, and between them were two objects: a palm-sized, grey durasteel sphere on top of an electrically-charged plate. Both of these objects were part of the _ayna-seff_ technique, which, translated into Basic as Jacen had learned, meant "dead brain." The reason that the technique was called this was because those who could master it would be able to make their brain activity undetectable to any machines that would read it. Ziil had informed Jacen, on his first day here, that the _ayna-seff_ could very well be used to fool an electroencephaloscan, for instance.

To master the _ayna-seff_, the goal concerning the sphere and the plate was to use the Force to levitate the sphere into at least a meter into the air and keep it steady for as long as possible. Because of the charged plate, the _ayna-seff_ suffuses the user's body with low levels of electromagnetic radiation, thereby allowing them to accumulate a fine-tuned grasp of controlling electricity and electromagnetic radiation from without in a way that would not have been as finely honed by the standard practices of the Jedi.

Jacen had been offered to try this technique on his second day here, as the first day was mainly a tour of the Baran Do Temple and a brief lecture on Koro Ziil's part about the history of their Order before settling down for the night in one of the Temple's guest rooms. Then, Jacen had been afraid to leave himself alone for a good night's sleep, for he didn't think that it would be a good night; he thought that he would be haunted by that damn grief and guilt over Uncle Luke's death. But that night, he slept well enough, and he couldn't remember what the dream was that he had seconds after he woke up. The only thing that he was glad in not seeing were drenched bedsheets that he would have to change, as Ziil told him that he was responsible for maintaining his own room, so at least Jacen didn't have any nightmares.

Later that second day, he had sat down with Koro Ziil, as he was doing now, and the Sage Master showed him how to commence the _ayna-seff_. After informing him about what the goal was with the sphere and the charged plate, and why it was important, Ziil committed the technique himself and had the ball raised in the air for just over a solid minute without moving it a single millimeter from its place before gently lowering back to the plate in a similarly unwavering fashion.

Jacen was then given permission by Ziil to commence it himself, and on his very first try, the ball wildly sailed a centimeter into the air before clanging back upon the plate. Jacen had thinned his lips and tried again, and this time the ball soared a good two centimeters before landing on the plate again. From thereon, Jacen commenced several more tries, each of them having the ball in the air for, at most, five seconds in the air, all the while bobbing up and down in Jacen's grasp. The highest that Jacen was able to get with the sphere on the first day was about six centimeters.

Jacen had been about to commence what felt like it would be his hundredth time when Ziil put up a hand before the human and collected the plate and the sphere still on it with the other. "This session is now over," Ziil told him in a tone that betrayed no feelings that he had of Jacen's performance.

The third day, Jacen had indeed improved slightly; the most he got with getting the sphere into the air was a good twenty centimeters, and in a way that had some slight trembling, that lasted for roughly seven seconds before Jacen's lost his hold and the ball clattered back upon the plate. By the end of that session, however, and on his very last try, Jacen had learned to gently settle the sphere back upon the plate, just as Ziil had shown him.

That was the only time that the Sage Master spoke during that session. "Good. You are learning to find the opportunity to settle the sphere back down when you know that you will not be able to hold it for any longer." He then collected the plate and sphere, said, "This session is over," and left, and Jacen departed through the same exit before diverging on his own path down the corridor outside.

He had thought about those last words that Ziil said to him and he couldn't help but wonder, given his philosophical mindset, if the Sage Master was saying more than what he was really saying. Was Ziil simply telling Jacen his marker in improvement, or was it some words of wisdom on the Kel Dor's part? Did it have something to do with how Jacen was carrying himself since the war ended?

Was Ziil saying that Jacen should know when to let go of his guilt when it was weighing him down?

Jacen had pondered that even as he slept, and he remembered his dream from the time he went to sleep to the moment just before he awakened; and that dream was one in which he and Anakin did a practice duel aboard the _Millennium Falcon_ just shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong War began. Jacen relived his feeling of victory over his younger brother, chastising him for using the Force as nothing more than a tool, a weapon, that was to be used. Jacen had been so sure back then, back before the Vong invaded, and looking back on it, he felt so stupid for believing himself to be that sure of his abilities in the Force. Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong had more than challenged that, that was what was for sure.

Today, though, Jacen had dropped the ball - no pun intended - a few times here and there, but he had managed to get a semi-consistent handle on the sphere as he got it to hover half a meter into the air, at ten seconds - no more, no less - and with only an imperceptible but still present trembling whenever he held that sphere in the air. On his last try, he successfully lowered the sphere with barely a ping on the plate.

After that, Ziil paid him his compliment, Jacen thanked him for it, and Ziil collected the sphere and plate before standing up to leave. Jacen stood up and followed suit before taking his own path to the mess hall.

There, he had gone to the food synthesizer and gotten himself a plate of thakitillo and a bit of nerfsteak, just enough to fill him up for the rest of the day, and a glass of water from a nearby vendor, which was all free for members of the Baran Do and those not in the Order who trained under them, such as Jacen. He regarded the mask on his face that was pumping fresh oxygen through to his lungs and made sure that its inner sealant was intact, allowing him to open its outer sealant to input food and water as he pleased before closing the outer sealant, opening the inner sealant via a knob on the side of his mask, and had the food go into his mouth, all the while oxygen still going through his lungs.

As he sat at a table eating his food with a few other Baran Do who took no particular notice of him, it suddenly struck Jacen that he wasn't exactly someone who was big on credits. His family pretty much want nothing to do with him, and he had no further support from the Jedi Order either, as all the money that had been granted to his bank account, which all Jedi had with a preset amount once they joined the Order.

He couldn't exactly live off the charity of others while learning the ways of other Force sects forever, and he doubted that even the Baran Do Sages would be so generous as to help fuel and maintain the _Solo Quest_ for him for free. So how would he be able to support himself in the long run? he finally asked himself.

Jacen was interrupted from his contemplation when his personal commlink beeped at his belt. He took it out and keyed it.

"Jacen Solo?" the voice on the other end inquired.

"Yes?" Jacen responded. He wondered why he wasn't being contacted through the Force like Ziil did to him when he entered the system. Was it because the Baran Do Sages sensed his Force-presence and realized that they could reach out to him without the need for a standard communication, as they would do to non-Force-sensitive arrivals in the system? That was his best guess.

"There is an envoy from the Hapes Consortium who wishes to speak to you," the Kel Dor operator on the other end informed Jacen. "Would you like to speak to her?"

Jacen raised his eyebrow in a brief thought. "Yes, I will speak to the envoy."

"Very well. She wishes to speak to via holographic transmission. Will you be able to reach one?"

"It might take me a few minutes," Jacen answered as he took out his datapad with his free hand. "Can you give me the envoy's transmission frequency?"

After the Kel Dor operator rattled off a list of numbers, during which Jacen input the numbers into a word document in his datapad, the operator concluded with, "I will tell the envoy to wait."

"Thank you," Jacen said before clicking off his commlink, standing up to leave his meal unfinished, and headed out of the mess hall to look for a holographic terminal.

He found one after a couple of minutes, input the frequency numbers into the terminal as he read off his 'pad, and hailed the envoy before he shut off and put the 'pad back on his belt.

The blue-tinted form of the Hapan envoy was a typical representation of her people, though she was a dark-skinned Hapan, not that commonly seen throughout the Hapes Consortium, Jacen thought. She looked like she had a pleasant-enough personality from her demeanor, though Jacen knew that in the backstabbing, treacherous political conditions of Consortium, appearances could very well be deceiving.

"Jacen Solo?" the envoy inquired.

"That's me," Jacen confirmed with a nod.

"I am Lady Uhali of the Algnadesh system. I have been sent here by Queen Mother Tenel Ka to inform you that she has heard of your sojourn throughout the various Force sects of the galaxy and that she is willing to provide you with necessary funds so that you may continue your journey."

Jacen looked at Uhali curiously. "Why would Her Majesty do that?"

"You are her friend, yes?"

"We've known each other for a long time, sure. But what does she want in return?"

"Nothing but for you to not face any financial troubles, what with your resignation from the Jedi Order and your estrangement from your family," Uhali replied in an official tone. "She will wire you a weekly sum of one thousand credits into your bank account. That is, if you are willing to offer your consent."

Instead of agreeing immediately, Jacen smirked. "And how do I know that you're really from the Queen Mother? How do I know you're not some kind of scam artist who'll just lead me down a path where I eventually lose what little money I have left?"

Uhali returned the smirk. "The Queen Mother thought that you might say that, and she has not made any recordings or even make any commlink or holographic transmissions, as she knows that you may also ask if they're all doctored. Therefore, if you are willing, you may come back with me to Hapes so that you may speak to Her Majesty on this matter personally."

"Thank you. I think I will. But I wish to stay here for a bit longer, to continue to learn among the Baran Do Sages, before I speak to Tenel Ka."

"Very well. I will inform Her Majesty about this, as she has expected that this may happen, too. How long do you think it will be?"

Jacen grimaced. "About the rest of the month."

"Then I will return one month from now. Farewell, Jacen Solo."

"Farewell, Lady Uhali."

The envoy terminated the holographic connection from the other end.


	8. Chapter 8

A few hours after Nom Anor and Eruk left the building from where they spent four days together, the two of them found a new dilapidated building, this one a yorik coral-encrusted apartment building that had only fifty floors. It was an impressive building, even with the results of the Vongforming covering it, but amidst the massive buildings around it and in the distance, this apartment was a small child in comparison.

Hopefully, this building would be a suitable hiding spot for Nom Anor and Eruk. He doubted that this building had the same unknown construction that presumably protected him from the detection of whatever sensors that the Galactic Alliance had within the ships that were overseeing the removal of the Yuuzhan Vong's biological coverings and additions to the planet. But he and Eruk had traveled far from the building that contained the underground labyrinth where he killed that Shaper, and since they hadn't been caught yet, and since they were tiring from all the hiking out in the open, they needed a place to rest and hide even from simple prying eyes, if not sophisticated technological ships' sensors. With any luck, Nom Anor placing that couffee in the dead Shaper's hand might very well convince whoever investigated his death and rule it as a suicide; but Nom Anor only wished he was that lucky.

Thankfully, however, as he and Eruk discovered in the apartment's basement, there was a lead-lined vault, which was open for some reason, of now-worthless New Republic credits and other prized, expensive valuables. Nom Anor didn't know or care how or why there was just this vault with all this useless currency here - who put it, why did they put it here, or why the vault was even open in the first place - because it didn't matter; he was just glad that it was here to no doubt block whatever sophisticated ships' sensors that would protect him and Eruk from detection. They also made sure that the vault door wouldn't automatically lock from either the inside or the outside, thanks to Nom Anor's familiarity with them on account of his time with the native peoples of the galaxy prior to the invasion.

Of course, Nom Anor and Eruk couldn't just constantly live in that vault; at least one of them had to go out and scour for food and water against the risk of getting caught, and even go somewhere to urinate and defecate when necessary. As for everything in the vault, Nom Anor and Eruk threw it all into the subbasement down below and in their stead pulled in two beds from one of the nearby rooms. There, they could sleep with a minimum of fear of getting caught.

By now, two days after Nom Anor killed the Shaper and he and Eruk traveled to this apartment a few miles from their previous "residence," the former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar and the former warrior had established a semi-routine, where they took turns leaving the vault to go get what could be passed for food among the scurrying rodents that were fairly safe to eat and suitable drinking water.

And throughout it all, there was the barest minimum of communication between the two of them, considering what Nom Anor told her about the gods having never existed.

During that second day, when they were thankfully, and silently, eating their lunch in the vault, they had heard the roaring engines of a Galactic Alliance space vessel cruising overhead, no doubt looking for whomever was truly responsible for that Shaper's "suicide." Once the roaring was gone, the two of them knew that the worst had passed, and they could venture back out into the world with a minimum of fear of their well-beings; after all, there was the possibility of a renewed search.

At the end of the second day of their occupation of the vault, they had both tucked themselves into their respective beds and were trying to go to sleep.

But a flicker of motion over at where Eruk was laying caught Nom Anor's one eye, and he turned to see her reaching out to him in the dim light of the vault. In her hand was the plaeriyn bol that she had taken from him when they first met.

Neither of them said anything as Nom Anor took it hesitantly, wondering if there was any malicious ulterior motive on her part, only to come away with the plaeriyn bol back in his grasp, and he put it back into his empty eye socket. Once he had it fixed up, he looked back at her and simply said, "Thank you."

Eruk said nothing and turned her back to him to try to get back to sleep.

But Nom Anor sat up from his bed and looked at her even as she wasn't looking back at him. "You say that you despise 'Vong,' such as that Shaper back at our previous hiding place, and you threw a razor bug in his leg because you saw the cowardice in him. Yet, because of all my actions that you are well-aware of, would I not be a Vong to you, Eruk?"

The former warrior turned back to him and sat up on her own bed herself to fully face him. "You are, indeed, a Vong, Nom Anor. But you are also useful when it comes to surviving; you have demonstrated that throughout the war, and that was why I did not kill you outright when we first met. And for all your faults, I have a great admiration for everything that you have done, even if much of what you have done is sickening, such as being partially responsible for the downfall of the Elite system, and here is why: Because you have endured. And anyone who can endure, regardless of his motivations, whether he is motivated by worship to a higher power that does not even exist or simply to himself, is someone who deserves some respect... and can maybe even be useful as a partner in survival."

"Then tell me: Why did you not decide to kill yourself in shame when I told you that the gods never existed? Why did you let yourself come with me after I killed that Shaper? With no higher purpose, why did you decide to go on living, Kun Eruk?"

Eruk sighed. "After you convinced me that the gods were not real, and that to continue to serve their will even after they had abandoned us was pointless, I wanted to be dead. But for some reason, I did not, as something in me felt liberated. I felt somehow... free in knowing that there is nothing beyond this. And that only made me appreciate my life all the more, even with everything that has occurred since the war ended. I did not know that for sometime after we left that other building, but after settling here, with you, I realize that now; and if someone like you can move on without the purpose of a higher power in mind, then maybe I can, too."

Nom Anor grinned. "Perhaps that maybe so. Goodnight."

He then tucked himself back into bed, and Eruk did so in her own. Within minutes, they both fell asleep peacefully.


	9. Chapter 9

By the end of his first week in the Baran Do Temple, Jacen had managed to master the _ayna-seff_ and had finally managed to beat Master Ziil's record of maintaining the durasteel sphere's hovering over the charged plate by a good half-minute or so.

And even though Jacen wasn't totally familiar with Kel Dor facial expressions, for some reason he thought that Ziil was smiling. The human had just set the sphere down upon the plate in total silence, and the Sage Master was regarding Jacen with pride, as Jacen figured.

"I am glad that you have been able to maintain the sphere up longer than the minimum amount of time, Jacen," Ziil commented as he and Jacen still sat where they were, "and perfectly still, as well. The sphere did not move a single millimeter when you had it a meter off the plate."

Jacen offered the Kel Dor a respectful nod. "Thank you, Master Ziil. You have offered me much in the way of encouragement."

"Indeed," Ziil said. Then, as an aside, he continued with, "Although, just so you know, my own personal record of keeping that sphere floating in the air was two minutes. Two minutes exactly."

Jacen gave a light chuckle. "I'll try to go for two minutes and one second next time I try this," he quipped.

"Perhaps," Ziil said in a similarly jovial tone. "But I think we have had enough of the _ayna-seff_ for now. Tomorrow, I will teach you something that you would think you would already know as a former Jedi: how to look into the future."

Jacen was about to ask how that was possible when, as Uncle Luke told him about something that Master Yoda had said to him, how one could see into the future when the future was always in motion. But Ziil, no doubt having expected this question to come up, held up a hand to cut off the human.

"I will explain tomorrow," he emphasized. He then collected the sphere and the plate. "This session is over."

That night, Jacen couldn't remember what dreams he had. Ever since that last dream he had, where he had sparred with Anakin aboard the _Falcon_ before the Yuuzhan Vong revealed themselves as a threat to the galaxy, Jacen had had no other dreams like that, and they were as forgettable and meaningless as any other dream. So he felt relieved when he woke up the next day and went to meet with Master Ziil in the Training Hall again.

This time, however, gathered all around the circular room, over two dozen Baran Do Sages were in attendance.

Only Koro Ziil stood before Jacen, out from the crowd, and the human didn't bother asking why all these other Kel Dor were here; he had a feeling that Ziil would tell him.

"Now," the Sage Master began, "I am sure that, as a former Jedi, you have heard that it is impossible to truly predict the future, as it is ever-changing, ever prone to the slightest nuances that could make the most difference to the state of events.

"However, for thousands of years, before the Kel Dors had even joined the Galactic Republic, the Baran Do Sages were renowned for one particular use of the Force here on Dorin: our ability to see into the future. We were able to predict catastrophic storms that would have wiped out entire populations, and in time, through techniques such as the _ayna-seff_, we were even able to _control_ the weather and prevent such disasters from taking place.

"Because of our unique talents, the Baran Do Sages adopted official capacities in Dorin's government, where we were able to predict further disasters and helped avert various would-be conflicts that would have ravaged our world, not only by stating our predictions but by also settling the disputes that would have sparked these wars through diplomacy.

"Unfortunately, the Baran Do Sages are not infallible. We were unable to predict the greatest catastrophe of all: the rise of Sheev Palpatine as Emperor. Among the many Jedi he killed with Order Sixty-six, he took our own Jedi Master Plo Koon, and we went into hiding as soon as we felt Master Plo's death and the losses of all the other Jedi who fell on that dark day. We had also been unable to predict the similarly horrendous invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong, but thankfully, our world was not ravaged by their blight.

"I tell you this, Jacen Solo, because throughout the past week, during all our training sessions, I could feel your fears and anxieties seeping into your being, into your performances with the _ayna-seff_. And I am more than aware of the loss of your uncle, the great and legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. We are all aware; we felt his passing through the Force as strongly as we had Master Plo's, even though he had never been here on Dorin.

"So why do I inform you of our fallibility? To let you know that you are not in the presence of those who are infallible, Jacen, and that for everything that you had suffered during the most recent war, which culminated with the loss of your uncle, you must not let your own doubts and uncertainties interfere with your actions."

Inwardly, Jacen grimaced, and he hoped that if Ziil did feel his insecurity, the Sage Master would keep it to himself.

"The _ayna-seff_ is a technique that most beginners could learn within two days at least," Ziil continued, "yet it took you a full week, and I know why: your grief and guilt over your uncle's death. That is why I brought you here today, Jacen, and with all the other Sages here." He swept his arm around to take in the other Kel Dors in the room. "To see if you can clear your mind, allow the grief and guilt to leave your being, if only for a temporary time, and see if you can achieve what we can achieve."

Jacen's open mouth could be seen through his translucent oxygen-pumping mask. "But... my ability to see the future is only as good as a Jedi's. Your ability to see the future is something that is unique to a Baran Do."

"Unique to a Force-sensitive Kel Dor, you mean?" Ziil inquired.

"Yes," Jacen answered honestly. "And to those Kel Dor who have followed the Baran Do Order."

"Again, Jacen, we are not infallible. And our ability to see into the future can go beyond whatever makes Kel Dors biologically unique enough from humans and humanoid species. Should one choose to follow the way of the Baran Do, he or she can master the same powers that any Force-sensitive Kel Dor born on Dorin could possibly master."

Jacen sighed. "Then just tell me what to do, Master Ziil."

"First, I want you to do as any Jedi would ask you to do, and clear your mind as you focus on my voice."

Jacen complied as he closed his eyes. Even so, however, the haunting of Luke's death continued to brew the tiniest bit of turmoil in his mind.

"No. _Clear your mind_," Ziil emphasized.

Jacen tried. He really did. But all he could see in his mind's eye was Luke dying before Jacen's sight, his family on top of his dead uncle, all crying.

"Clear. Your. Mind," Ziil practically commanded.

But Jacen couldn't...

Instead, however, he thought about somebody who made him happy: Danni Quee. Her lovely features, her blonde hair, green eyes, fair skin, all reappeared in his sight. In a moment, he saw her, remembered her from the times he saved her from Helska 4, from when they swam in the vast planetary ocean of Mon Calamari, and the friendly moments that they shared when they were searching for Zonama Sekot.

All those moments flashed by before Jacen in a greater instant than that terrible memory of Luke's death, but all those positive thoughts were what allowed him to finally fulfill Ziil's command, and his mind went completely blank.

"Good," Ziil's voice rang in the darkness that was now Jacen's mind. "Now picture one bolt of electricity running down the middle of the blankness before you."

In Jacen's mind's eye, a corresponding blue lightning bolt ran vertically in the center of his vision.

"Now, gradually," Ziil's voice continued, "picture other lightning lightning bolts to accompany the one frozen before you right now. Fill that empty space with nothing but those bolts."

Jacen complied; and one by one, on either side of the initial framed bolt, more lightning bolts appeared until they had, indeed, encompassed the blank world of Jacen's mind.

"Now let them commingle, Jacen."

Jacen did; and the bolts wove in and swirled within each other in an incomprehensible miasma of blue light until they exploded in Jacen's world, engulfing all that was him until his world was entirely rich in color.

And all of that color was held together by a single, white light in the very center. But that white light soon split off, as if asexually replicating, and once the light had been divided, a gaping, black hole was formed in the center of Jacen's mind. This dark maw began to spread out as the two white lights spat electricity between each other, and the colors that were Jacen's world turned grey, turned black, until the two white lights also turned black, before it all collapsed into ash around Jacen.

Beneath him, his world crumbled away, and he fell, screaming, into a gaping abyss.

His eyes then snapped open, and he saw the worried gazes of all the Kel Dor in the room; they had all sensed the terror that he had just experienced.

"What did you see?" Koro Ziil asked with trepidation.

Jacen hesitated in his response. "Nothing that makes any sense in the real world. Not like a Baran Do prediction. All I could see were colors, and lights, and all of it being overcome by darkness, destroying everything."

Immediately, concerned murmurs went about the Training Hall, which were all silenced just as quickly by a Force-assisted wave by Ziil. He then put his hand back to his side and told Jacen, "What you just saw was something that the Force did not want you to see, what you were not meant to see. When this happens, it will turn into something that can only be interpreted, without a single basis for solid evidence to its meaning aside from what you felt.

"What do you think it means, Jacen?"

Jacen sighed in worry. "I don't know, Master Ziil. I just... really don't know."


	10. Chapter 10

Nearly a month had passed since Nom Anor and Eruk had met each other, and today, the former had been out for longer than usual. Eruk was getting worried; had something happened to him? Had he been caught by the restoration crews consisting of Galactic Alliance overseers and the Yuuzhan Vong Shapers who stayed behind to help? Or worse...?

She left the vault and headed up and out of the dilapidated apartment complex and looked out to the Vongformed site before her, wondering where he could have gone. Where could she start looking?

That question became moot once she saw a figure on a mechanical speeder bike, which had another speeder bike hooked up behind, riding in toward her. Eruk was about to turn and run when the biker came into view, and she saw that it was Nom Anor, who, strangely enough, had two hands instead of his one as he rode the speeder bike.

He stopped a few meters from her and as he dismounted, he smiled at her. He then took off the pack that was on his shoulders, opened it up, and showed her the three dead and sizable rodents that would fill them up for the day, as well as transparent canteens both filled with clean water.

But Eruk's attention wasn't on the contents of the pack. She was looking in disgust at both the speeder bikes and Nom Anor's new mechanical hand, which had taken the place of the stump that had been there previously.

"Where did you get these abominations?" Eruk asked, indicating the two vehicles and his prosthetic.

Nom Anor's cheery demeanor died away. "I found them in the building from which I caught our food and water. And I figured that I could lose my disadvantage-" he held up and flexed the mechanical fingers on his new hand "-and in case we were ever found, we might have a chance at getting away." He waved at the speeder bikes behind him with his prosthetic hand before turning back to her. "You do remember that the gods do not exist, right, Eruk?"

The former warrior felt an instant of loathing for Nom Anor and was about to physically assault him, only to remind herself that what he said was true. Therefore, there was nothing inherently wrong with mechanical and electric machines, as she had believed for so long. And besides, there would be some utility value in the speeder bikes, and Nom Anor's prosthetic hand might make him more useful, if only just a little bit, so her expression softened.

"I was surprised to find that these bikes still worked after what had to be years of disuse, what with the Yuuzhan Vong occupation of this planet," Nom Anor said as he unhooked the flexible metallic tether that held the two speeder vehicles together. He put the tether in the back of the bike that he rode and looked back at Eruk. "You should try to ride one of these." He patted the handlebar of the one that he towed in, again with his prosthetic hand.

Eruk looked at him in surprise, only to come to the conclusion that that was why he brought two speeder bikes, so her expression lost its raging heat again.

"I suppose I would have to learn if we do get in trouble," Eruk muttered more to herself than Nom Anor.

So she mounted the bike that Nom Anor indicated, and he leaned over her to point out the functions of the vehicle, things that he had learned from his pre-invasion days among the peoples of the New Republic. Eruk committed Nom Anor's lecture to memory, and on his, "Go," she revved the bike's engine and zoomed off.

She roamed the speeder bike around the vast Vongformed field surrounding the apartment complex, commencing various turns, ranging from tight and close to loose and far, at various intervals. She had a slight balance problem, but she always managed to correct it in the half-hour that she had of practicing in riding the vehicle.

By the end of that half-hour, she saw Nom Anor wave her back in, and she headed back in his direction, where she stopped a few meters from him and turned off the engine.

"You did surprisingly well for a beginner," Nom Anor complimented.

"It was easy enough," Eruk replied nonchalantly as she dismounted the bike. "So where we going to hide these two?"

"I know where," Nom Anor answered. "Turn on the repulsors of yours, just them, and follow me."

Eruk complied as Nom Anor turned on the repulsors of his own speeder bike, and she followed him as he walked his bike to the back of the apartment complex. There, they encountered a small but large enough parking garage, which Nom Anor opened, and they found no vehicles inside. So they placed the speeder bikes there, turned off the repulsors to settle them down, and they turned back and outside, Nom Anor shutting the door behind them.

"I think now is a good time to eat, hmm?" Nom Anor asked.

"I would like that," Eruk said.

But once they rounded the corner back to the front of the apartment complex, the two Yuuzhan Vong stopped in their tracks when they found were a dozen feral-looking, dirty humanoids in ragged and torn clothing looking at Nom Anor and Eruk with primal hatred and hunger in their eyes. Each individual was of a different species, so from left to right, there was a Twi'lek, a Bothan, a Mon Calamari, a human, a Weequay, a Togruta, a Cerean, a Neimoidian, a Zabrak, a Wookiee, a Trandoshan, and a Rodian, all of whom were male.

Only a few of the species that consisted of the fallen New Republic and the reigning Galactic Alliance.

Without warning, the multi-species feral group charged at the two Yuuzhan Vong.

Nom Anor spat two bouts of poison from his plaeryin bol that took out the two greatest threats in the group, the Wookiee and the Trandoshan, but the rest of the group had reached them, and Nom Anor knew that it would be a while before his bol could refill itself. Thankfully, however, Eruk had charged in herself and attached the Weequay and the Togruta while Nom Anor punched out the Bothan and the Twi'lek. He then turned his attention to the human and the Cerean, and he first dispatched the human by punching his mechanical hand in the man's throat, killing him instantly, before smacking the Cerean down to the ground and stomping his cone-shaped head down against the hard yorik coral.

Eruk, meanwhile, had thrown the Weequay in an over-the-shoulder toss by the other alien's arm toward the Zabrak. She then fell down against the ground as the wild Togruta leaped up on upon her, but Eruk literally rolled with the blow until she was on top of the Togruta, where she grabbed the cat-like alien's head in both hands and slammed it so hard against the yorik coral ground that an audible crack could be heard, signifying the end of the Togruta's life.

Eruk then stood up and squared off against the Neimoidian and Rodian. The latter attacked first, but she pivoted around his approaching form, caught his neck in an armlock, and promptly broke it, killing him instantly and dropping his corpse to the ground, before kicking the Neimoidian rushing in from behind in the sternum. She then whirled around to set herself on the bug-eyed alien and punched him in the throat multiple times until he dropped to the ground dead.

As for Nom Anor, he focused his attention on the Weequay, who pushed himself off the unconscious Zabrak and rushed in at the male Yuuzhan Vong. But the Weequay, in spite of his species' notoriety for stupidity and this individual's own amplified mindlessness, dodged his opponent's plaeryin bol poison and tackled Nom Anor to the ground, where he began to claw against the Yuuzhan Vong's face even as the latter alien did his best to fend off his wild foe. Nom Anor didn't struggle long, however, for the Trandoshan tackled the Weequay off, and the two wild aliens started to fight, no doubt wanting to be the one to eat - as Nom Anor figured that they thrived off the flesh of other species, if not on those of their own species - the male Yuuzhan Vong.

Across the battlefield, Eruk was downed by a punch in the face by the flippered hand of the Mon Calamari, but she kicked both her legs against the fish-like alien's legs, downing him as he screamed in pain, before she wrapped her legs around his head and twisted it until it broke, ending his life before flipping herself backward to kick both feet up against the Bothan's snout, causing him to backpedal from her in pain.

Hearing footsteps rushing in from behind upon landing and facing the stunned Bothan, Eruk commenced another pivot and ended up behind the murderous Twi'lek who tried to attack her, and she kicked him in the small of his back, downing him before pinning his legs in place with one of her legs before yanking on his lekku. With one pull, the head-tails were ripped off and gushing blood from the blue-skinned alien's head, sending him to writhe on the ground from the shock of the pain, where his eventual blood loss would lead to his death. She then set her sights on the incoming angry Bothan.

As for Nom Anor, he waited as the Weequay and Trandoshan fought it out, with the Weequay emerging the victor while the Trandoshan lay on the ground, his head a bloody smear along the yorik coral ground on account of the Weequay's frantic but effective punches. But when the Weequay had turned to face Nom Anor, poison had already spat out from the latter's plaeriyn bol and it struck the previously-evasive Weequay's visage, numbing him before killing him and dropping his body to the ground.

Which now left the Bothan, and his taloned hands raked four nasty, bloodying scars across Eruk's right cheek, and she wheeled around before collapsing to the yorik coral ground in pain, and not the kind that Yuuzhan Vong were known to shy away from. However, before she could turn herself to her back to launch a kick attack against the Bothan, as she had with the Mon Calamari, the Bothan fell on top of her and began choking the life out of her with his hands.

The choking stopped as soon as it had begun, though, when Nom Anor rushed in and delivered an uppercut against the Bothan, sending the furry alien off of Eruk. The sudden release of the wild alien's hold on her neck allowed Eruk to suck in a great amount of precious air, and she began coughing while Nom Anor finished off the downed Bothan by leaping up into the air and coming down upon the hairy figure, his elbow driving down into the Bothan's throat, thus killing him.

Nom Anor turned back and walked over to Eruk's own downed form, offering his prosthetic hand to help her up. Without hesitation, given the hand's mechanical nature, Eruk grabbed it and allowed Nom Anor to help her up.

She was about to thank him when she saw their remaining opponent, the Zabrak who recovered from unconsciousness, rush up behind him without a battle cry.

"Watch out!" she screamed plaintively.

And, instinctively, Nom Anor quickly grabbed Eruk by the shoulders and placed her in the Zabrak's path.

Reacting quickly, Eruk launched a drop-kick against the Zabrak's solar plexus even as he leaped toward her, and he flew back to the ground in pain. She then rushed in toward him, jumped up, and came down with her right boot smacking against his head, the impact being so hard that it ended the tattooed alien's life.

Eruk stood over the dead Zabrak's corpse for a long moment, her thoughts unknown to Nom Anor as she stood absolutely still, before she finally turned back to the apartment, not paying her male counterpart any mind as she soon reentered the building.

Nom Anor followed, wary of what the former warrior was now feeling.


	11. Chapter 11

By the end of his month with the Baran Do Sages, Jacen came to master various other techniques in their Order, at least on a basic level. He came to summon small whirlwinds and came to control lightning in a way that was similar to the Jedi's own Electric Judgement technique, and he felt himself more and more centered, a common philosophy in the Sages' Order. Jacen felt much of his guilt over Luke's death disappear as a result, though there was still always a tiny niggle of that guilt in the back of his mind, and Jacen felt that he would continue to grieve over Luke's death on some level for a long time.

There wasn't much that Jacen could learn beyond the more advanced techniques of the Baran Do Sages and some combat, but as Jacen practiced some of the combat techniques against other Baran Do students, all of whom used wooden staffs in place of something like a lightsaber, he found very little that was different from any Jedi martial arts. And given that the Baran Do Sages did not emphasize the need for martial arts, for they did not believe in it as strongly as the Jedi, Jacen found it amazing that this Order had any standards for martial arts at all; and he was even more impressed that there were students who managed to defeat him in sparring practices. Fortunately, there were a few students that he himself was able to beat, so his ego wasn't totally bruised.

And throughout it all, the vague vision that he had experienced and told Master Ziil on that day in the Training Hall, in front of all those other Baran Do Sages, was never discussed again. Neither Master Ziil nor any of the other Sages ever brought it up again, at least not to Jacen, and the latter, in turn, did not want to discuss something that the Force-sensitive Kel Dors around him didn't want to talk about. So he never brought it up again in his further training sessions with Master Ziil or in what few interactions that he had with the other Sages in their Temple.

Nevertheless, at the end of his month with the Baran Do Sages, he felt that he had learned enough; anymore time here, and he felt that he would be a full-on, committed student of their arts. The entire point of his sojourn was to spend a little time here and there learning at least the basics of other Force sects' tenets, not to choose one as a permanent decision.

Master Ziil was understanding of this when Jacen told him, and saw him off to the _Solo Quest_, which had been refueled and maintained under the Baran Do Sages' expense as Ziil allowed it.

"I am glad that you had come to study under us, Jacen," Ziil told the human as they stood at the foot of the _Quest_'s lowered boarding ramp. 'If you ever wish to continue studying under us, you are more than welcome to return and possibly become a full-time student. We do not get many non-Kel Dor students in this Order."

"Thank you for the offer, Master Ziil," Jacen said with a formal, polite bow. "But my place is not here. I have a personal obligation to learn under other sects, to see what they have to say about the Force. And I must say that your Order's teachings were very... enlightening." Jacen emphasized the last word for comedic effect; it was a pun on the Sages' control over electricity.

Ziil tittered. "Amusing.

"But, you know, Jacen," Ziil continued in a more serious tone, "I know that we have not talked about that vision that you had some weeks back. So I wish to speak to you of it now."

"What is there to say, Master Ziil?" Jacen asked. "I experienced a vision that I don't even understand, and I'm the one who's in the best position to understand it!"

"Precisely," Ziil agreed. "Which is why it is so problematic. Jacen, you have experienced a vision that no other Kel Dor has ever experienced, and the vagueness of that vision is not an indicator of your baseline training of our ways. On the contrary, even though our visions are more concrete, you have experienced something, as I have said after you first explained your vision, that not many Force-sensitives in the galaxy could ever possibly experience. And that makes you someone special, Jacen. It was not something that we Baran Do have talked about since your vision, and we have kept it to ourselves, so that it would not interfere in our activities, such as my teachings to you.

"But because of that specialness, which I do not even quite understand, you have foreseen a dark time that could rival either the fall of the Jedi Order under Palpatine's hand or the invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong. For this, we, the Baran Do Sages, will do our best to take special precautions, with whatever visions that we achieve from the Force and what we feel to be the right course of action on a united front. I only hope that whatever you predicted can be stopped, and I feel that you, the foreseer of whatever that nightmare was, might have the power to stop it.

"That is what I wish to end our time together on, Jacen."

Ziil then placed a mask and set of goggles over his face that fed him helium and Dorin's special unknown gas, and he allowed Jacen to lead him up into the _Solo Quest_. They reached the cockpit, where Jacen closed up the ship's boarding ramp before activating the _Quest_'s airvent system, sucking out the alien world's gases that invaded the vessel and replacing it all with human-suited oxygen.

And that finally allowed to remove his oxygen-providing mask and protective goggles before passing them off to Ziil.

"Thank you for all that you have taught me, Master Ziil," Jacen said with one last formal and polite bow.

Ziil reciprocated the bow. "And thank you for learning under me, Jacen. Farewell."

The Kel Dor then turned and left the cockpit, only for Jacen to stop him from traveling any further through the ship by saying, "Master Ziil."

"Yes?" the Sage Master asked when he turned back to face the human.

"Seeing that you could see into the future," Jacen said, "at least to a limited degree... does that mean that you foresaw me coming to your world?"

Ziil tilted his head, as if mimicking a human smile in his Kel Dor way. "Sadly, no. But I had welcomed you all the same, had I not?"

Jacen smiled. "Yes, you did. And I'm eternally grateful for that." He nodded. "May the Force be with you, Master Ziil."

"And with you, Jacen."

Jacen turned back and shut the cockpit off from the rest of the _Quest_ before opening up the boarding ramp, allowing Ziil to leave. After shutting the ramp back up, Jacen had the rest of the ship vented off the helium and Dorin gas again before flooding it back in with more oxygen, allowing him to open the cockpit back up to the rest of the vessel again.

Before long, the _Quest_ was up off the deck, the ceiling above the ship open for it to soar up and out into the dark dusty skies above. After that, it pierced through the atmosphere, broke out of Dorin's gravity well, and jumped into hyperspace for the Hapes Consortium.


	12. Chapter 12

A few days after departing from Dorin, the _Solo Quest_ finally dropped out of hyperspace into the Hapes system. There, he was almost immediately hailed by Hapan Orbital Control to identify himself and to state his intentions. After he complied, he was told to enter in on a certain vector that eventually brought him into the hangar bay of the Fountain Palace.

After cycling down his ship and exiting from it, he was met by two redheaded light-skinned twin women, both garbed in black synthsilk that exposed their toned midriffs and left little else to the imagination for the rest of their bodies, who bore a faint resemblance to Tenel Ka. Behind them, more traditionally-clothed Hapan guards with rifles stood to attention.

"Greetings, Jacen Solo," the twin on the left said diplomatically. "I am Trista Zel."

"And I am Taryn Zel," the other twin interjected just as formally.

"And we are here to escort you to the Queen Mother," Trista continued.

"If you will follow us," Taryn said.

As the twins turned and headed to the exit bay that led into the rest of the Fountain Palace, a contingent of the guards that were behind Trista and Taryn formed up a loose circle around them and Jacen. The latter pretty much had no choice but to follow the twins as the guards practically herded him forward.

Jacen was escorted through the Palace and eventually through an exit that brought everyone in the group out into a lush, regal garden that bloomed with beautiful, fragrant-smelling flowers and other vegetation. Jacen was brought farther into the garden before he, the twins, and the guards all stopped at a pond that separated the garden into two halves; and from the other side of the garden stood Tenel Ka.

"Everyone but my cousins and our guest," the Queen Mother proclaimed, "turn around."

At once, the guards rotated in their stances and were facing the opposite direction from their Queen Mother. Only the Zels and Jacen continued to look ahead at Tenel Ka.

_Cousins_, Jacen thought dismissively. _Well, that explains the resemblance_.

Tenel Ka then stepped into the pond and approached the end where Jacen and the twins all waited, taking varied, measured steps that looked rather spastic and random to Jacen's eye.

After Tenel Ka finally reached Jacen's end of the garden, she smiled at him. "Welcome, Jacen. I had expected you to come much earlier, but regardless, you are here now, and that is all that matters."

"Well, I'm sorry for any inconveniences that you may have felt by my delay in coming here, Your Majesty," Jacen said.

"Oh, it is no inconvenience, really. Come, let us discuss the terms of our deal." She turned back and stepped into the pond. "Take the exact same steps as I do," Tenel Ka said without turning her head to face Jacen. "Deviate from the path at all, and you will fall in."

"Understood," Jacen replied as he proceeded to do exactly as Tenel Ka asked of him.

Once the two of them had made it to the other side of the garden, Tenel Ka continued on her way and entered an area with such thick foliage surrounding the two of them that no one from the other side of the garden could possibly see them. Only above was there any sunlight streaming down, illuminating the thickly green area that was dotted with various colorful flowers that were no less beautiful than any of the other vegetation in the rest of the garden.

In spite of the regal attractiveness of the area, Jacen couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy. Vague memories of his time with Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong were stirred by the sight of all of the organic pleasantries; the foliage around him now seemed like a family-friendly version of the twisted biots that the Vong had once had under their control.

Tenel Ka either didn't notice or otherwise paid no mind to Jacen's slight unease - if the latter case, she probably didn't want to exacerbate any problems, he thought - as she took a seat on one of the two large rocks in the center of the thickly flowered area.

Without even a wave from Tenel Ka's one hand, Jacen had already received his cue and sat down on the other rock as he observed this place before narrowing his gaze on the seemingly open sky above.

"Wouldn't this be a good spot for any assassins to drop in and try to kill you, Your Majesty?" Jacen asked. "Or drop a bomb here or something?"

Tenel Ka shook her head in reassurance. "That is thick transparisteel above us, Jacen, so we will not have to fear any attempts on my life here... relatively speaking, of course. As well, the other side of the transparisteel is projecting a false image that makes it look like the rest of the foliage. But, please, when you are in my private company, there is no need to maintain any pleasantries. You may call me Tenel Ka, as you once had back when we were children."

"Great," Jacen commented pleasantly. "So, Tenel Ka, you wanted me to come here so we can discuss the terms of sending a decent sum of a thousand credits in my bank account every week?"

Tenel Ka nodded. "Fact. This way, you may continue your sojourn in financial stability."

Jacen shrugged. "Sounds good to me. What do I have to do to make this a done deal?"

Tenel Ka reached into the folds of her robes and produced a single flimsiplast document, slightly crumpled but otherwise unharmed, along with a stylus pen.

"Simply sign your signature in the space below," Tenel Ka elaborated. "And we will have a done deal. You are welcome to read it, if you like."

Jacen wondered how he would sign, but as if reading his mind, a metal table rose up from the ground between himself and Tenel Ka, its smooth surface just asking for Jacen to place the document there so he could sign it.

He was about to simply place that document on the table and place his signature there, only to decide to read at least some of it. He ended up reading all of it, however, as it wasn't a very long document, nor did it have any financial jargon that would have confused him. So, feeling content that there weren't any downsides to this deal, he finally placed the paper on the table and signed it.

Tenel Ka renewed her smile as she took the document and pen from Jacen and replaced them within her robe. "Thank you, Jacen. You will now be set for the rest of your sojourn. You are free to go, if you wish."

Jacen nodded and was about to stand up and go when a question struck him.

"What is it?" Tenel Ka asked in concern.

"Out of curiosity," Jacen said after a moment, "how did you even know I was on this sojourn, Tenel Ka?"

Her lips thinned in a line before she sighed. "Jaina told me."

"Jaina?" He had told Jaina about his sojourn, sometime after Uncle Luke died and before he skipped out on the funeral. "Why did she tell you?"

"She decided to stop by on Hapes, to see how I did after the war," Tenel Ka explained. "She and I talked, and I asked how you were doing. She told me that you were off on a sojourn that explored the various other Force sects of the galaxy."

"I see. Did she mention anything else about me?"

"Yes, but only after I asked why you were not at Master Skywalker's funeral. You are not speaking with anyone in your family, Jacen." Tenel Ka sounded more objective than anything else; yet that objective tone somehow stung Jacen more than if she had ever interjected her own personal feelings on the matter.

"I know," Jacen replied reluctantly. "So, if Jaina let you know about that, why are you giving me this money, Tenel Ka?"

"Because when I heard about Jedi Master Hamner's declaration to all Jedi, saying that those who would not be actively participating in the Galactic Alliance's reclamation of the power that had once belonged to the New Republic, I looked into the public access list on the HoloNet to check to see who had dropped out. I was sad to learn that those such as Tahiri and Tekli decided to leave the Order, but I was especially saddened to learn that you had left, too, Jacen.

"And knowing that you were no longer on speaking terms with your family, nor were you a part of the Order, I knew that you would need financial stability. Hence, why I am giving you this money, as per the contract that you had just signed."

"Well, okay, that explains _how_ you know that I would need the money, but that still doesn't explain why," Jacen stated. "_Why_ would you give me this money after knowing that I hadn't attended my uncle's funeral?"

"Because I knew that you would need it, Jacen," Tenel Ka said. "And I understand why you did not attend Master Skywalker's funeral. While I do not agree with your decision personally, I can understand it, and I know that it must have been hard for you not to come. And I am giving you this money because we are friends; I still care for you, Jacen."

At this, she patted the knee joint of his left leg.

Jacen gave her a sad smile, the grief and emotions that he felt since Uncle Luke died, and since he was essentially disowned by his family, and since he had quit the Jedi Order, suddenly welling up. Yes, Lowbacca had still felt that he and Jacen were friends, but Tenel Ka's continued support, even if it was only financially, made it all the more meaningful for him. Jacen couldn't help but tear up slightly at this, knowing that Tenel Ka was still here for him.

"Thank you, Tenel Ka," he whispered.

Tenel Ka looked like she was holding back emotions of her own, but she nevertheless stood up from her rock, which prompted the table between herself and Jacen to sink back into the ground as if by an unspoken command, and she sat down next to him to embrace him with her one arm. He returned the embrace almost immediately.

Not long after they brought themselves away from each other, and Jacen's eyes were slightly red-rimmed from his brief, soft crying, he couldn't help but ask, "I truly appreciate what you're doing for me, Tenel Ka. Not only in helping me money-wise, but just for being there when I thought I was alone."

She placed her hand on his shoulder as she looked at him as if he were being ridiculous. "You are never alone. Even without the Force, you are never alone."

Tenel Ka's face then fell into a frown. "But sometimes, I feel as if _I_ am, Jacen. I am surrounded by those who wish nothing more to gain power from me or to outright take it from me by force, by the threat of death. Those I can trust, such as my cousins Trista and Taryn, are too few; but when I think of you, I see one of the most selfless, honest men that I would be glad to call a friend."

Jacen leveled a sad smile up at her. "I feel ashamed that I'm acceptin' charity from you like this, Tenel Ka, from a friend as great as you. I don't even know how to begin to repay you."

Tenel Ka waved that away. "There is no need to repay me for anything, Jacen. And do not feel ashamed; I only want you to be happy, to continue to learn from this sojourn without any hindrances."

"So you're sure there's nothing I have to do to repay you?" Jacen inquired.

Tenel Ka gave a small laugh. "No, you do not, Jacen... Well, maybe there is."

Almost abruptly, she pulled him in and kissed him. Jacen was shocked at first, obviously, but he soon closed his eyes and felt as elated as Tenel Ka herself felt in the moment.

Yet, at the back of his mind, he felt a bit of shame, and an image of Danni fell over Tenel Ka's visage in Jacen's mind.


	13. Chapter 13

**One Day After Nas Choka's Peace Agreement With the Galactic Alliance**

Peraff Dulaana, one of Master Shaper Qelah Kwaad's subordinate Shapers, stood among the multitude of Yuuzhan Vong, both of the Shamed and now-formerly Elite classes, who were either being herded to certain areas throughout the recaptured Coruscant or were being kept in place by armed Galactic Alliance soldiers. As time passed by, GA shuttles flew down through Coruscant's atmosphere to collect Yuuzhan Vong and bring them to Zonama Sekot, where they were to live under the peaceful dictates of the living world.

Dulaana was in agreement with this whole arrangement, and not reluctantly, as he knew many of the surviving Yuuzhan Vong felt, such as his fellow Shapers. He felt nothing but relieved pleasure in Nas Choka's agreement with the victorious government, for it meant that the Yuuzhan Vong could continue living, even if they had lost their ways. Of course, Dulaana and his fellow Shapers would not be joining them, as they were to remain here to reverse the effects of the Yuuzhan Vong's terraforming of the planet, but Dulaana was happy with that nevertheless.

And he did not believe that the ways of the Yuuzhan Vong Elite were necessarily the right ways. Like certain other Shapers, such as the heretical Mezhan Kwaad - a late relative of the current Master Shaper, Dulaana noted - he felt that the ways of the gods were never truly the correct ways to live under. Dulaana had always been scientifically-minded, and he always cared for his people. So he always felt a twinge of doubt for the existence of the pantheon and a pang of sadness in his being when he knew that he lived under a culture that valued sacrifice to gods who were more than likely fictitious. And with the reveal that the gods had always been false, as admitted by the likes of former Eminence Harrar, Dulaana did not feel shock and a loss of meaning in his life as he felt righteous vindication and, like his feelings for Choka's decision, relief.

The only other thing that Dulaana hoped was true was if his beloved lover T'krai, a Shamed One, had survived the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar. Even after T'krai was marked as a Shamed One for being unable to properly graft with his artificial arm, and was thus cast into the underworld of the planet that the Yuuzhan Vong stole and took to calling Yuuzhan'tar, Dulaana still felt nothing but love for T'krai; they had been close as children, and while T'krai was a valiant warrior prior to his Shaming and Dulaana a Shaper, they still remained in touch. Their love for each other, though, remained a secret, as it was forbidden to romantically mingle between castes. After T'krai was cast down into the lower rungs of Yuuzhan Vong society, however, it was outright anathema for Dulaana to ever speak to a Shamed One, especially on a friendly basis, much less a romantic one.

As if reading his mind, Dulaana spotted T'krai, who was missing the arm that he unsuccessfully bonded with, among a pack of Shamed Ones being herded into a vacant spot amidst the crowd, which had been used by a crowd of formerly Elite Yuuzhan Vong that were just shuttled off to Zonama Sekot. The two of them spotted each other, and T'krai broke away from the group to head to Dulaana, much to the worried chagrin of the GA soldiers who now aimed their blaster rifles at T'krai's back.

"Wait! Wait!" Dulaana cried out in Basic, putting up his hand to the guards. T'krai also stopped, and turned to see what the soldiers were about to do before his lover stopped them.

Dulaana approached the lead guard overseeing the Shaper group. "Please, let me see him," he told the dark-skinned man. "He is my lover. I wish to see him."

The guard, instead of answering Dulaana, placed a hand up to his ear. "At ease on the Shamed One who's broken off. He just wants to see his boyfriend. Keep an eye on him, though."

"Acknowledged," came the reply from the soldier's earpiece.

The guard then wordlessly nodded at Dulaana and let him pass to meet T'krai.

The two Yuuzhan Vong - one of the formerly Elite class, the other of the once-Shamed - soon embraced in a passionate kiss before they pulled away from each other.

"It is good to see you again, Peraff," T'krai said in his own language with a relieved smile.

"I agree, I am so glad that you are safe, my love," Dulaana replied in the same tongue. They then embraced again in a celebratory hug, as they did, Dulaana said, "Praise Nom Anor for this!"

Those nearby Yuuzhan Vong who heard this looked at the direction of the embracing men in disgust.

"_Praise Nom Anor_?" a former warrior mocked. "He brought this down upon us with his _Jeedai_ heresy!"

T'krai looked in the direction of the angry warrior. "He did what was right! Shimrra needed to be brought down! You will see that in time on Zonama Sekot!"

The warrior tried to charge out of his group, only to run headlong into the butt of the rifle of one of the guards, which caused the warrior to collapse to the ground, much to the bemusement of the rest of his group. One of the other human guards helped the downed Vong up and helped him rejoin the group in a peaceful yet slightly threatening tone.

Dulaana and T'krai turned back to each other. "Do you know what happened to Nom Anor?" the latter asked the former.

Dulaana shrugged. "Last I heard, he was rumored to have died during the battle."

T'krai sighed. "Such a shame. In spite of what was said of him, that he was a coward, a blasphemer, and a liar, he was really a good man for all that he did as Yu'shaa the Prophet." He smiled. "If it were not for him, Shimrra's system might still be in place."

"And we would not be together as we are now, T'krai," Dulaana commented as he placed a tender hand on the stump of where his lover's missing arm once was. He then looked back into his eyes. "I hope that on Zonama Sekot, you will be given a better replacement than the one you were given."

"I hope so, too," T'krai replied. "And I hope that if Nom Anor is still alive and out there that he could be repaid for all that he has done, not only for the Shamed Ones, the Yuuzhan Vong as a whole, but for us, my love."

"If he is out there, T'krai," Dulaana said, "then I will repay him for reuniting us, if even in an indirect way."

"Hey, lover boys, get back into your groups!" the lead guard of the gathering that T'krai came from proclaimed. "You've had enough time to smooch and chitchat!"

"Goodbye, my love," T'krai said.

"Goodbye, dear."

The two then parted, and T'krai rejoined his group in time for a shuttle to arrive and take him and his group up to Zonama Sekot.

And Dulaana returned to his group to see the shuttle disappear into the sky, reminding himself of that vow; the memories between himself and T'krai were all well and good, and it was great to learn that he was still alive and off to a better place, but if there was one thing of T'krai's that Dulaana would carry to the present, it would be his vow to help Nom Anor if that man would ever need help. Sure, he doubted that the treacherous Yuuzhan Vong was still alive somewhere, but still...


	14. Chapter 14

**One Day After Nom Anor and Kun Eruk's Encounter with the Ferals**

As Nom Anor slept soundly and peacefully in the bed across from her, Eruk found herself restless and almost constantly awake. Her thoughts had been returning to that encounter with those wild humanoids from the previous day, specifically that last moment; that moment when Nom Anor shoved her in front of that crazy Zabrak.

Yes, Eruk had been able to deal with the Zabrak before he was able to do her any harm. Yet the fact that Nom Anor had put her in harm's way at all made Eruk feel incredibly uncomfortable for some reason. She and Nom Anor had had established something of a friendship in the past month that they had been living together in the ruins of Vongformed Coruscant, and while Eruk knew that Nom Anor was quite a coward among the Yuuzhan Vong, that fact had been something that she had been thinking abstractedly. To experience the effects of his cowardice firsthand was something else altogether.

It was like a betrayal to her, she thought. Nom Anor had acted instinctively, putting his own life first before that of his comrade's. Even ignoring traditional Yuuzhan Vong practices of self-sacrifice for the greater good, Eruk was aware that deliberately placing one's partner, even in a heat-of-the-moment situation, was culturally maligned even among the New Republic, the Galactic Alliance, and other native peoples in this galaxy. If those peoples, who mostly placed significantly less emphasis on self-sacrifice than the Yuuzhan Vong, thought that putting someone whom one has grown close to in harm's way was wrong, then Nom Anor was probably worse than Eruk had thought.

Again, even though she was able to defeat and kill that Zabrak, Eruk was still troubled that Nom Anor, her only friend out in these ruins, would place her in the path of danger to preserve his own life. It was sickening on a gut level for Eruk, and she knew that if he was ever in danger again, he would place his own life before hers.

And she needed to make sure that that would never happen; if her life was to be put in danger by the threat of anymore of those feral humanoids or anything else on former Yuuzhan'tar, she would rather die alone than to be betrayed on any level by a supposed ally.

With that decision, she sat up on her bed, flexing her hands and ready to snap his neck as he continued sleeping.

She contemplated that decision for a moment before ultimately deciding against it; no, if she was going to betray him, as he would betray her, she would do so in a way that would actually bring him to justice for his cowardice. Killing him like this would be too good for him; and besides, she now thought of another way to get back at him for his treachery.

Eruk quietly slipped out of the vault, making sure that the door opening would not wake up Nom Anor, before she headed out of the room and subsequently out of the apartment complex. She headed out across the ruined fields of Vongformed Coruscant in the dim early morning, wary of anymore of those feral humanoids that she and Nom Anor had encountered the day before.

As she walked, however, she started to have second thoughts. How could _she_ betray Nom Anor like this? After all he had done for her? He committed only one act of betrayal, and it was a small act that had no direct repercussions aside from the effect that it had on Eruk's psyche. Everything else that Nom Anor had done while Eruk knew him had benefited her in some way; even opening her eyes to the fact of the gods' non-existence was something that Eruk needed.

On the other hand, though, she reminded herself that if Nom Anor continued to be free, and she was still with him, then Eruk would ultimately end up a fatal victim of his betrayal. So she resolved herself to carry out her decision to turn on him.

And soon, she came across a Galactic Alliance search ship that flew dozens of meters in the air. It hovered over her as it shined a bright searchlight upon her. Hoping this would work, she raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, something that she never thought she would ever do in her life. Thankfully, no projectiles were fired down upon her as the search ship levitated down toward her.

Minutes later, Eruk was aboard the passenger cabin of the ship, shackled by a pair of mechanical stuncuffs and seated next to an armed green-skinned female Twi'lek guard who eyed her suspiciously. Otherwise, the ride to where the search ship was taking Eruk was quiet and peaceful, if not slightly tense.

Once the search ship had settled down on a landing platform in the upper reaches of Coruscant, Eruk was discharged by the Twi'lek guard and her male Togruta pilot, and they eventually brought her inside of the building ahead. There, they settled her down in a makeshift interrogation room, the stuncuffs still bound to her wrists, and she waited for nearly half an hour before a light-skinned, aristocratic-looking man with brown hair entered the room. He seated himself in the chair across the table from Eruk and leveled the same suspicious gaze at her that the Twi'lek and Togruta from the search ship gave her.

He then placed a folder on the table, opened it up to reveal a stack of empty sheets of flimsiplasts there, and took out a stylus pen from within his jacket to place on the first flimsiplast sheet.

"Identify yourself," the man demanded.

"I am Kun Eruk, formerly of the Yuuzhan Vong warrior caste," she answered stoically.

"How have you avoided the Galactic Alliance searches of Coruscant until now?"

"Through sheer willingness to not be caught by you and what you would call luck."

"Fair enough. I'll have some follow-ups with you on that, but for now, let's move on," the man said. "Why did you willingly surrender?"

So this was it, Eruk thought. She could tell this man about Nom Anor. On the other hand, however, she could very well tell him that she had simply decided to give up and ask for asylum. But even if Eruk was not worried about Galactic Alliance interrogation methods and techniques, she felt that Nom Anor deserved to face justice.

"Because," she said, "I can tell you where Nom Anor will be."

The man looked at her with shock.

.

When Nom Anor finally woke up, he looked at Eruk's bed to find that wasn't in it. Furrowing his brow in curiosity and concern, he stood up, exited the vault, and left the apartment to look out among the ruined Vongformed fields around him, trying to find any trace of Eruk.

His at-first-glance search came to an abrupt end when he heard the roar of a Galactic Alliance search ship echoing throughout the canvas before him. He turned to hurry back inside to avoid detection, only to stop when he saw the search ship appear from over the roof of the apartment above to hover over him.

"Nom Anor, get down on your knees, put your hands in the air, and don't move!" an authoritative male voice erupted from the speaker of the vessel ahead.

Instead, Nom Anor rushed inside, narrowly avoiding getting blasted into superheated atoms and molecules as a laser fired down upon the spot where he once was. The impact wave of the blast, however, knocked him forward and off his feet, but he just as soon picked himself back up and rushed across the apartment.

Outside, the search ship settled down toward the ground to hover a meter above, allowing a discharge of about six Galactic Alliance troopers to jump out from the door that slid open from the vessel's right side. The half-dozen soldiers rushed inside, their rifle blasters bared, in their pursuit of Nom Anor.

Nom Anor, however, had made it to the back of the apartment complex by then and hurried through the door that led into the garage where he stored the two speeder bikes. He had the door shut and locked behind him before he ran to the button that opened the garage to the outside world. As that door opened, he mounted the bike that he rode to the apartment on. He then gunned the engine, bringing it back to life in seconds, and just in time for both the garage door to open all the way up and the door that led back into the apartment to be blasted open by one of the GA troops.

But before any of the soldiers had a chance to shoot him down, Nom Anor sped off into the Vongformed fields ahead.

Seconds after leaving, he heard the roar of the search ship again, and risked a look behind him to find that it had cleared itself from the other side of the roof to give chase. As well, one of the GA troops, a male Zabrak, had mounted the second speeder bike and was also giving chase.

Nom Anor whipped his head back forward and accelerated his speed, but managed to move out of the way of a yorik coral stalagmite ahead. As he whizzed by the protrusion, he heard a blaster bolt hit the stalagmite, and he knew that the Zabrak trooper was trying to shoot him down. So Nom Anor commenced a series of zigzagging maneuvers on his bike, and as a result, each and every one of the soldier's blaster shots were missing.

Above, however, the GA search ship had reached him and was now gradually lowering itself down toward him, matching his speed and maneuverability. Beneath it, its belly turret had rotated and aimed a laser to blow him away.

Thus, Nom Anor braked hard, and the turret's shot went wild, producing a small smoking crater in the yorik coral beneath. Nom Anor then wheeled around and rushed past the bike-riding Zabrak, who missed yet another shot. This time, Nom Anor could actually hear the trooper's roar of frustration over the sounds of his own bike's roaring engine. Farther behind Nom Anor, the search ship had also rotated and zoomed back after its quarry.

Seconds later, Nom Anor had entered a building-clustered area, with roads and alleyways that were cloistered and compacted with buildings all around. The entry that Nom Anor took was too small for the search ship to enter, bit it managed to fire off a giant laser blast from its turret. The laser produced a sizable explosion, but it missed Nom Anor's speeder bike by several meters, causing an impact wave that threw the small vehicle up into the air a few meters but otherwise doing no damage.

Hence, the speeder bike mounted by the Zabrak was the only one who could follow, and this time, given that they were now in an area that would give a claustrophobic person nightmares, the troop thought that his next shot would nail Nom Anor in his back. But upon taking that shot, Nom Anor pulled back on his vehicle's throttle to have it leap over a mound of trash, so the Zabrak's shot only made a steaming fog of garbage in the Yuuzhan Vong's wake.

Nevertheless, the trooper managed to mount the steaming trash just as Nom Anor had, and he had the Vong in his sights again, only for the next laser to go wide when Nom Anor made a steep turn into the alleyway on his right.

This time, the Zabrak just sighed as he followed Nom Anor; all those years in the shooting gallery for nothing, he thought. Now he understood how many Imperial stormtroopers must feel.

Still, the soldier kept on the pursuit, and felt a slight encouragement when he saw that the search ship had appeared above the narrow gaps of the buildings beside him and Nom Anor. The vessel fired down a few more lasers in the fleeing Vong's direction, only to create a massive, meter-deep crater in the yorik coral below when Nom Anor made yet another sharp turn into the alleyway on his left.

Ahead, Nom Anor saw that he was now approaching a dead-end alleyway, with his only hope being the closed, and probably locked, door that he was fast heading toward. Still, he continued to zigzag, making the Zabrak still miss him from behind, but up above, the search ship was now about to target where Nom Anor would be in five seconds.

Or at least where the targeting operator aboard the search ship thought he was going to be, for the next laser strike made only another small crater in the yorik coral ground. Nom Anor, meanwhile, had shifted his speeder bike's direction slightly to the left, allowing it to go up the metal ramp that he saw, and he soared through the air for a few seconds before coming back down to hover and ride inches above the ground. Two seconds later, the chassis of his speeder bike crashed through the closed door, ripping through the weakened locks that were indeed there on the other side, and the vehicle caused a massive storm of debris as it whisked through the empty corridors of this building.

The Zabrak's speeder only made a further mess of the chaos, but because of the resultant debris, he found that he lost sight of Nom Anor. A second after that, his standard issue handblaster was knocked out of his hand by one of the pieces of debris.

Stopping his speeder bike, allowing the chaos of debris to die down, even if it meant losing Nom Anor - as he was confident that the search ship could still get him - the Zabrak hurried back among the mess to retrieve his weapon.

But upon leaning down to grab it, where it had landed beside an open apartment door, a hand from the other side of the door stomped down upon the Zabrak's reaching hand. The troop snarled in pain, but before he could do anything, Nom Anor's other foot kicked him in the face, sending him flying back across the corridor.

When the Zabrak's vision finally cleared, it just as quickly cut to darkness, as the last thing he saw was Nom Anor leveling the blaster down upon him and firing a lethal bolt, ending the horned alien's life.

.

"Private Zengahl, come in. Do you read? Do you read?" the male Togruta pilot of the search ship called. The last he saw of Nom Anor and the Zabrak troop, Private Zengahl, chasing him, they had entered that last building and were not seen since.

But before the Togruta could repeat his message to Zengahl, the sound of a speeder bike's engine emerged from the other side of the building, and the Togruta gave chase to find that Nom Anor was riding on his speeder bike again. This time, however, Zengahl was not on his tail.

The Togruta thought that the Zabrak had been killed by the Yuuzhan Vong; if that were the case, then Nom Anor definitely deserved to die. So the Togruta trailed a line of shots for the Yuuzhan Vong, all of which missed as he zigzagged between them, before finally coming out of the cluster of buildings and out into an open field of yorik coral, with few buildings around this time.

That allowed the Togruta to dip the search ship down toward Nom Anor to get a clearer shot this time. But just as he got close enough behind the bike-riding Vong, and was prepared to blow him to microscopic bits, the Yuuzhan Vong threw something behind him and up into the direction of the pursuing search ship's forward viewport.

The explosion from the overloaded blaster, which Nom Anor took from the dead Zabrak, wasn't all that powerful to even put a crack in the viewport's transparisteel, but it did knock the Togruta's piloting off track, causing him to inadvertently veer toward the right. The underside of the ship clipped a yorik coral stalagmite, taking off the belly turret and sheering itself against the rest of the ship's underside.

That threw the Togruta farther off-course, as he lost all control of the search ship and found himself plummeting towards the ground.

His last thought, though, was that he felt glad that it was in Nom Anor's general direction.

.

From the Coruscant Operations Center for Reforming the Planet, Peraff Dulaana sat at his console biot, where he saw that the Galactic Alliance search ship had crashed while the blip that marked Nom Anor's speeder bike, though stationary, was still active.

Seeing that no one else in the sensory room was looking, as they were all busy conducting their own planetary operations on their own console biots, Dulaana reached out to the console and had the blip marking Nom Anor and his bike removed from the biological sensors. He then subsequently erased any records of that blip remaining following the search ship's demise in a matter of five simple seconds, making it look like Nom Anor perished in the crash along with the search ship.

This, Dulaana thought, was for what Nom Anor did with his _Jeedai_ heresy, which allowed Dulaana to see T'krai again, even if it was for a few, all-too-brief moments. And no one in either the Galactic Alliance group of overseers, nor Master Shaper Kwaad, nor any one of Dulaana's fellow subordinate Shapers would ever know about this.

Or so he hoped.

.

Lying between the crashed search ship and the speeder bike that he fell off of, Nom Anor looked between the two crashed vehicles and pushed himself up, every bone in his body aching from the crash. Thankfully, nothing was broken, so he could still move on, albeit with a mild degree of pain in his being.

Turning, he headed toward the nearest building, reached the door, and shoved his pulsing shoulder against it. He grunted from the effort and the subsequent pain that the impact on the door produced, but he headed in, shut the door behind him, and headed down to the dark building's basement, hoping that he would reach safety.


	15. Chapter 15

As the _Solo Quest_ rocketed through hyperspace, away from the Transitory Mists, Jacen slouched in the pilot seat with his right cheek cupped into his right palm. His expression was one of abject shame as he watched the starlines pass by through his ship's forward viewport.

He thought back to just after his kiss - his first kiss - with Tenel Ka ended. Her face had looked concerned once she saw his still-miserable demeanor.

"What is wrong, Jacen?" she asked.

He sighed. "Tenel Ka, I like you and all, but... look, I'm sorry, but if this is what you want me to do, I'm afraid I can't take your money. I-"

She held up her hand to stop him. "As I have just told you, Jacen, you need not repay me. And if you do not wish to reciprocate my feelings for you, then that does not change the deal that we have just made." Her face looked sad. "I only want you to be happy."

Jacen stared at the relatively stoic Queen Mother Tenel Ka rather awkwardly, not knowing what else to do or say then. "Well, then..." He stood up and concluded with, "It's been nice seeing you again, Tenel Ka. Thank you for providing me with the credits that I'll need to get through this sojourn and... yeah, again, thanks. May the Force be with you, and... goodbye."

"Have a safe sojourn, Jacen," Tenel Ka said in a resigned tone.

Jacen lingered as he stared back at Tenel Ka for another awkward moment before saying, "See ya," and turning to walk away.

He stopped upon reaching the threshold of the thick foliage area, stood there for five seconds, then turned back and walked over to Tenel Ka. There, they embraced in a passionate kiss.

Later that night, after what had to have been an hour of activity, Jacen lied in bed next to Tenel Ka, who stroked her one arm across his chest in an intimate gesture. She smiled at him, but he only looked at the ceiling as if he had just been castrated instead of having made love with one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy, the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium.

The next morning, Jacen had a private breakfast with Tenel Ka, wished her a simple goodbye that involved no further intimate embraces, and he set himself off - no sexual pun intended - from Hapes to his next destination: the Kathol Rift, where he would learn under the Aing-Tii.

But now that he was once again alone with his thoughts, Jacen had the time to contemplate on just how guilty he felt for sleeping with Tenel Ka, because, well... he still had feelings for Danni! Again, he knew that there wasn't a relationship between the two of them anymore - nor was there even a relationship to begin with, really - and that if he wanted to, he could sleep with any consenting woman he wanted, as he had. But sleeping with Tenel Ka kind of felt like cheating on Danni. No, not Danni, but to Danni's memory. No, not Danni's memory, but the hypothetical relationship that he could have had with Danni... which, being hypothetical, meant that it never existed, of course.

And why did he sleep with Tenel Ka anyway? Was it because she made him feel guilty about simply accepting the money that she would provide for him anyway? Did he feel guilty because he would have never felt like he would have been able to repay Tenel Ka otherwise? After all, how could he have repaid her when she, as Queen Mother, had everything that she could possibly desire? Really, the only thing he could offer to her at that point was himself, and he would have never forgiven himself for leaving her as he almost did. Then again, he can't forgive himself now _for_ sleeping with her!

Whatever the case, Jacen knew that he would have never come out of that deal without feeling miserable in some way. Either he left Tenel Ka cold after agreeing to give him a thousand credits per week, or he would feel guilty about kind-of-but-not-really cheating on a woman with whom he had no actual relationship. Add all that up with the fact that Jacen still felt guilty about failing to save his uncle, was still grieving over his uncle - not to mention Chewbacca and Anakin from the war earlier - was disowned by his family, and was essentially forced to quit the Jedi Order. Add all of this up, and Jacen wondered whether or not he was still being tortured under Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong and this was just a fever dream.

But Jacen knew that this was too good to be an extended psychotic episode, good being a relative term, of course; if Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong really wanted to torture him, there would be greater atrocities that Jacen would still be experiencing. For instance, maybe he would have lost his entire family; he would have lost all of his friends; the Galactic Alliance could have lost the war; Onimi could very well be enslaving minds to force them to kill themselves to fulfill his omnicidal desires. Any number of events worse than this would leave Jacen in a permanent comatose state.

Sure, this could be a method of a gradual slide to utter insanity, but even so, Jacen knew that this was the reality he was living in. And the reality he was living in? One in which he could pretty much do whatever he wanted, such as learn from other Force sects and have sex with the Hapan Queen Mother. If there was anyone who was inflicting this psychic torture upon Jacen, it was Jacen himself, because any other normal person would say that his life was pretty good right now, the losses that he's endured notwithstanding. So what in all nine Corellian hells was wrong with him aside from the obvious?

Oh, he knew what was wrong with him. He was damaged goods, and he knew it. For all the greater awareness that Vergere brought upon through her teachings, Jacen had been irrevocably changed for the worse. Here he was, riding alone aboard a starship to learn new ways of the Force when he could just as well decide to settle down with Tenel Ka if she gave him permission. Or maybe he could at least try to return to the Jedi Order, plead to Master Hamner to come back and help the Galactic Alliance pick up where the New Republic left off when the Yuuzhan Vong conquered Coruscant. Or maybe, better yet, he could actually try to reconcile with his family. He could do any or all of this rather than waste his life away learning from different Force sects when there was really nothing more that he could learn; not for any reasons that would do him any good, anyway. Yet, here he was, and even knowing that Vergere had damaged him psychologically, he still didn't feel any hatred or resentment toward her, as he knew that the rest of his family must have felt after they all learned what she put Jacen through.

Was this how people who had gone through horribly abusive relationships must have felt? That for all the emotional atrocities that the abuser inflicted on his or her victim, the victim would come out of it feeling so numbed from the experience that he or she would actually believe that there was at least some good to come out of the ordeal? Jacen thought that was so in his case.

He had achieved total oneness and awareness with the Force when he killed Onimi. Yet he recalled that perfect moment, when it had been achieved, and he knew that while he would never be able to attain it again, he would strive for the rest of his life to reclaim it. It was such a paradox, he thought; knowing that you were going after a fruitless goal, without any delusions to the contrary. It was almost like a mental illness in and of itself; at least with those who repeated actions, only to get negative results, they at least thought they were getting somewhere in the process. Here, Jacen knew he was going nowhere. So why was he throwing away his entire life for this stupid sojourn?

He sometimes felt like he should have been the one to die in the war instead of Anakin; he should have been the last Jedi to die aboard the _Baanu Rass_ instead of Anakin. Again, Jacen recalled his sparring duel with his younger brother aboard the _Millennium Falcon_ before either of them had even heard of the Yuuzhan Vong, before Chewie even died; then, Jacen had reprimanded Anakin for being brash with his use of the Force, in using it as more of a tool or weapon than as a state of being. But now, Jacen felt that Anakin would have been a better hero for the war; his practical-mindedness was what the people of the galaxy needed against the Yuuzhan Vong, and Jacen's hesitance was the least that that war needed to repel the invaders.

Anakin would have been more worthy of achieving oneness with the Force than Jacen by the end of the war, he thought. He would have been the one who would have been able to have stopped Onimi earlier; he would have been able to save Uncle Luke; he wouldn't have been disowned by his family; Tahiri would have been happy with Anakin, she would have been well, and she may have been able to have had a bright future with Anakin, instead of throwing her own life away on Zonama Sekot; and Anakin would have been the very last person whom Jacen could imagine would have quit the Jedi Order for this sojourn.

So why did Jacen live and Anakin die? the former wondered.

Jacen was soon roused out of his contemplation by the chiming of the ship's proximity alarm for exiting hyperspace. Almost reluctantly, as if he were wishing to just allow the _Solo Quest_ to jump into a star or something and end his existential misery, Jacen pulled down on the hyperdrive lever just in time and ended up on the last empty space dropout point before entering the Kathol Rift.

Upon entering it, the _Quest_ was bombarded by attacks from the Rift's nebulous gases; however, Jacen had come prepared for that. Remembering the _hassat-durr _techniques that Master Ziil taught him, Jacen reached out and used the Baran Do techniques to repel all of the electromagnetic radiation that could do his ship any harm. It was a struggle, one in which he had to put long hours into, and which left him tired at the end of each hyperspace jump.

And at each end of the hyperspace jump, he encountered the spiders.

He had already known coming into the Kathol Rift that the spiders were hallucinations that every single individual who has ever gone into the Rift - no matter the age, gender, species, etc. - had always encountered. They looked and felt so real, and it took a significant amount of Jacen's already-strained willpower to ignore the spiders at each bout, and they disappeared after a few minutes. From there, Jacen allowed himself some real rest, along with a fresh meal and some water, before going through yet another bout of repelling nebulous gases and ignoring seemingly-real spiders.

After a good two days of this, Jacen finally came across a ship that made him panic momentarily; it resembled one of the Yuuzhan Vong's vessels, though the vessel staring back at him through the viewport was more spherical in nature than any Vong ship that Jacen had ever encountered during the war. The alien vessel was studded with strange projections at placements that were seemingly random, and Jacen could see unfamiliar writings and symbols on the ship's hull plates.

And it was now approaching the _Solo Quest_.

Jacen thought about hailing the ship, only to remember that these were Aing-Tii ships; he remembered the descriptions that Talon Karrde offered of the ones he saw when he came to meet Jorj Car'das to find a copy of the Caamas Document. So, if the beings aboard that ship were Aing-Tii, and they hadn't hailed the _Solo Quest_, then that must mean that they wanted to be contacted through the Force by Jacen. That was apparent since they weren't reaching out to him.

So he shut his eyes and reached out to the beings aboard the other craft.

And they were astounding to him. Where the Baran Do Sages felt more like a primitive - Jacen didn't know what other word to use - version of the Jedi Order, the Aing-Tii felt like something else altogether. They had no parallel in the Force, at least not from Jacen's limited experience among the Jedi and the Baran Do so far. Jacen could only describe them through their total opposite, the Yuuzhan Vong, whose only parallel that the Aing-Tii had to the invaders was that where the latter were absent from the Force as a whole, the Aing-Tii seemed to reach out _across_ the Force. And even then, Jacen could sense that the Aing-Tii were also somehow, at the same time, outside the Force like the Vong as well. How could this possibly be? Not even Vergere felt as unique through the Force, what with her ideologies and all, as the Aing-Tii had.

Once, Jacen tried to reconcile the contradictions of the light and dark sides of the Force under Vergere, and he ended up with the Unifying Force, as the rest of the Jedi Order had. Now he tried to reconcile the contradiction that beings could be both in and across the Force, and be outside and absent from it simultaneously, and he doubted that he could reconcile that anytime soon, if ever.

And amidst it all, Jacen felt this sentiment: _You, One Who is Damaged, Will Be Tested_.

Jacen gasped, not knowing how else to respond to how they knew about him like that. Even when Master Zill communed with him on this level when he first arrived over Dorin, Ziil did not know who Jacen was. But the Aing-Tii knew who he was, at least on a... spiritual level, if Jacen could call it that.

_Very Well_, he replied carefully. _I Accept_.


	16. Chapter 16

Upon accepting the Aing-Tii's offer to be "tested" - whatever that meant - Jacen was provided a series of hyperspace launch coordinates from the alien ship that produced shockingly easy jumps. So as the hours passed during each time that the _Solo Quest_ was in hyperspace, heading to the same destination that the Aing-Tii was heading to, Jacen could relax and just relish in the peace and solitude after all that time that he had to make all that effort to repel the Kathol Rift's nebulous gases with his _hassat-durr_ powers. Even the thoughts that were plaguing him since the end of the war couldn't bother his exhausted mind; he just relished in the peace and tranquility around him. Very few times since Luke died had Jacen ever been in a state like this, especially one that had lasted this long.

And at the end of each jump, the hallucinatory spiders no longer appeared in the _Quest_'s cockpit to attack Jacen. Perhaps the Aing-Tii were using whatever abilities they had to make sure the hallucinations wouldn't affect him anymore? Or was it that the Kathol Rift's hallucinatory effects had run their course on Jacen's mind and he could no longer perceive whatever phantasms that the nebula could conjure up? Either way, he was glad that he wouldn't have to fend off anymore arachnid illusions for the rest of his time in the Rift... hopefully, anyway.

At the very last jump, Jacen saw a small, uninhabited moon of a multicolored gas giant ahead. The surface appeared to be barren and rocky, though Jacen's sensors told him that as dead as the moon looked, it had a decent mix of oxygen and nitrogen in its atmosphere, though the oxygen was a little thinner compared to other oxygen-bearing planets that Jacen was accustomed to. Nevertheless, it was just habitable enough for human and most other sentient life to breathe for a few hours, at least, before someone like Jacen would need a more balanced dose of oxygen to stay healthy and alive.

The Aing-Tii ship approached the grey moon, and Jacen followed in its wake down through the atmosphere. The alien vessel was also the first to land on a seemingly random spot on the barren, rocky ground, and Jacen settled the _Quest_ down about a dozen meters off to his escort's starboard.

Minutes later, after his YT-2400 had cycled down and the ship's boarding ramp had touched land, Jacen felt light-headed once he was fully exposed to the moon's air. Still, it was breathable, as expected, and he left the ship, making sure it was closed and locked back up along the way, before heading toward the landed Aing-Tii ship.

He stopped, however, once he saw the few large rocks that were nearby the other vessel unfurl themselves into white, black-striped bipeds with large tails. In spite of their powerful-looking legs and relatively small arms, the beings resembled snakes more than humans or any other humanoid species. Their large, unblinking eyes stared back at Jacen with a look of simple curiosity more than anything.

But Jacen wasn't unsettled by their uniquely alien appearance. Like the rest of the Kathol Rift, he knew what he was getting into, so he knew what to expect from the Aing-Tii.

And so he bowed before them. "I am Jacen Solo. Thank you for being so willing to meet with me. I have come to accept whatever challenges you deem necessary that I pass so that I may learn among your order."

None of the Aing-Tii moved or said anything; they simply stood there, silent. Jacen returned their curious glares with one of confusion. Why weren't they talking to him? As alien as they were, there had to be some form of communication that could be established with them; after all, Yoda and Jorj Car'das managed to commune with them. How that happened, though, was a mystery that wasn't divulged by either of those two.

Then he remembered, and Jacen refrained from slapping his hand to his forehead because of how stupid he felt; he had communicated with one of them through the Force back when he was aboard the _Quest_! So surely, by reaching out to them through the Force again, he could-

_No_, came the same voice that he heard back aboard the _Quest_. And following this, the Aing-Tii in the center opened its mouth to reveal six thin, bright-green flickering tendrils that acted as tongues. _Come now, or there will be no further communication between us_.

This time, Jacen couldn't help but squirm where he stood once he realized what he had to do; something that he remembered from his brief study of Aing-Tii culture and customs. And as he thought about it, two of the Aing-Tii approached each other and began licking, smelling, and touching each other; it was how the species communicated with one another.

And as Jacen approached the Aing-Tii whose mouth was still open, Jacen felt the alien's Force-presence disappear along with the metaphysical presences of all the other present aliens, as if they had just become Yuuzhan Vong, if not by sight, then through the Force; as if the resemblance that their ship had to the Vong wasn't eerily similar enough, Jacen thought.

Nevertheless, Jacen reached the central Aing-Tii, sat himself down, and allowed the alien to reach out to him with his tongues and arms.

Then, all at once, Jacen felt the Aing-Tii before him in a way that he couldn't truly pin down. This time, he felt Tadar'Ro, as he simply knew what the Aing-Tii's name was now, and everything about his Force-self, as if he had been created in many differing, undefined layers of the Force. Each of those layers, including the one that Jacen felt as a Yuuzhan Vong-like absence, felt simultaneously intertwined yet somehow separate from each other. It was as if the Force-construct that was Tadar'Ro was a Force sect in and of himself; where an order, such as the Jedi and the Baran Do Sages, was comprised of many individuals, each of Tadar'Ro's presences was an individual that made him up. That was the best analogy that Jacen could come up with to describe what he felt in Tadar'Ro.

And throughout it all, Jacen saw a sort of rainbow of Tadar'Ro's presence flash before his eyes, something that could never really be relegated to any lexeme or signifier that could properly describe it.

A rainbow, Jacen thought. The same rainbow that he saw in his vision back on Dorin. The rainbow that was tainted by the splitting of that light; were the Aing-Tii that multitude of colors that Jacen had seen? Were they somehow to be corrupted? Had he come here to help them avert whatever catastrophe he had foreseen? Or, worse yet, did he come here to inadvertently lead them to that catastrophe? If that was so, was he the light whom was split? Was he the light whose own internal separation brought about whatever darkening that the Aing-Tii would have to go through?

It felt as if Jacen had only been touched by Tadar'Ro for seconds, and as soon as he had been immersed in the connection, it was cut off.

A quiet moment passed between Jacen and all the Aing-Tii. Then Tadar'Ro turned and waved one of his compatriots over; the indicated alien brought forth some kind of small, boxlike device that was hooked up to a strap. The subordinate Aing-Tii placed the thing over Tadar'Ro's head, and the latter turned back to Jacen before pressing a button on the box.

"Welcome, Jacen Solo," a male human voice uttered from the device. "As you have determined from our physical encounter, I am Tadar'Ro. The voice that you are hearing from the translator device hanging upon my neck right now is a replica of the voice of Jorj Car'das, the only other human that we have ever encountered in our recorded history. This translator, as indicated by its signifier, acts as a way for us to communicate; so where you hear your native language, I hear your voice translated in the vocals of my own language. Tell me, does your ship require any fuel?"

"Um... yes, as a matter of fact, it does. Why?" Jacen inquired.

"We are willing to provide it for the trip to our homeworld," Tadar'Ro answered.

"This isn't your homeworld?"

"Of course it is not. We would not reveal the location of our homeworld to mere strangers. They have to gain our trust first. And you have."

"I'm honored," Jacen said.

"Of course you are. One who is as unsure of your path as you are would doubtlessly feel honored to train under any Force sect that he enters. But in your case, it is good, as you have an open mind. You are certainly much more receptive of learning other ways of life than Car'das was, never mind the Force in general. And given that you are already a skilled and experienced Force-user, Jacen Solo, you will be much easier to teach overall, in spite of your disadvantage."

"My disadvantage?" Jacen asked.

"You know your disadvantage, Jacen," Tadar'Ro said. "Your grief, your doubts, your guilt. You carry them within you; that is how I came to identify you as One Who Is Damaged."

Jacen blushed with embarrassment.

"It is, however, a result of your open-mindedness," Tadar'Ro followed up, as if to calm Jacen's mind more than anything. "Most beings who are not Aing-Tii, such as your species, tend to find assurance in themselves and their beliefs, going on in life as if their static beliefs and values were everything that they could ever possibly need. So they do not question themselves, their actions, or their existence, and they go on as if matters in the galaxy, in the universe, are as they should be. And I do not talk about external matters; I talk about internal matters. If one believes absolutely in oneself, and does not question what he or she does when they oppose others whose actions they doubt, then they risk falling into a dogmatic line of thinking that may differ from what they fought but can nevertheless become a new corruption in and of itself.

"And in any society that can be considered free - free of such governmental ideologies such as despotism and the like - the only things that are often left that keep people down are themselves and their self-assurances; your lack of that, Jacen, is what can potentially free you from narrow-mindedness and from the dangers that you can pose to yourself, even as you question yourself as to the actions that you. Because it is that very element of self-questioning that allows one to see one's actions in a broader view; what you lack is the element of self-assurance that is necessary to balance out that self-questioning, Jacen, and we can provide that for you. We provided it to Jorj Car'das when he was lost, and we can do the same for you, as well."

Jacen was stunned speechless for a moment. Everything that Tadar'Ro said through Car'das's voice reflected all too clearly on Jacen's state of mind. It was as if the Aing-Tii would be the Force sect that could provide Jacen the self-assurance in life that he so desperately needed right now, as Tadar'Ro just said. He would continue to learn from other Force sects, but perhaps the grief, doubt, and guilt that plagued his life might be significantly reduced, if not outright banished from his psyche.

"Do you require rest?" Tadar'Ro finally asked after the interim silence.

Jacen shrugged, mentally slapping himself out of his stupor before feigning a mild degree of nonchalance. "I guess. It'll give you more time to refuel my ship."

"It has already been done," Tadar'Ro corrected.

Jacen looked at Tadar'Ro, perplexed.

"It is a technique that you will come to learn among us, Jacen," Tadar'Ro elaborated. "And we will expect monetary compensation from you in due time; we take whatever currency you can provide to us. So rest up. We have a long journey ahead of us." He and the rest of the Aing-Tii turned back and returned to their vessel.

Jacen stood there for a moment before turning and rushing back into the _Solo Quest_. There, he checked the ship's readouts to find that, indeed, she'd been refueled, as Tadar'Ro promised.

Jacen recalled from Talon Karrde's report - the report that he read up about the Aing-Tii - that described Jorj Car'das's ability to teleport some kind of object from one place to another. Is that what the Aing-Tii did here? Did they teleport the necessary amount of fuel into the_ Quest_?

That was the only conclusion that Jacen could come to.

Of course, that didn't matter right now. As he told Tadar'Ro, he did need the rest, so he headed to his quarters aboard the _Quest _and dropped into bed, falling asleep almost instantly with his clothes still on.

And as he dreamed, he dreamed that he had mastered the Aing-Tii method of teleportation and transported himself across the galaxy, to where Zonama Sekot was, to where Danni was...


	17. Chapter 17

It had been a number of days since Nom Anor escaped the clutches of that Galactic Alliance search team, and he had never settled into what could be called a new home since. Oh, sure, he stopped every once in a while to sleep and catch something to eat and drink, but he never picked any place that he could stay long-term, as he had when he lived with Eruk.

And speaking of Eruk, he fumed at the thought of her. He knew that she was the one who was responsible for bringing that search team against him; for whatever reasons she had of betraying him, she was the only one who could have possibly allowed the GA to know about him. That was why she found her absent to rat him out that morning.

The question was why did she do it? Why did she betray him after all their time together, surviving in the ruins of what was once Yuuzhan'tar? The only conclusion that Nom Anor could come to was when he pushed Eruk in front of that feral Zabrak, back when they fought and killed those wild creatures.

Did she betray Nom Anor because of that? Did Eruk betray him because she was worried that, one day, he would sacrifice her life to preserve his?

It was certainly within him, he thought. Nom Anor had no qualms about letting others die so that he could live; and he admitted to himself that if he had to sacrifice Eruk's life if it meant saving his own, he would do it in a heartbeat. He felt no shame in that; he lived this long because he sacrificed the lives of others.

Of course, Nom Anor couldn't blame Eruk for betraying him. Yet he still wished vengeance upon her. The next time he saw her, he would track her down and murder her in cold blood. He would show her no mercy, no matter what bond they had established previously. He had done it to Shoon-mi Esh when the Shamed One tried to usurp him as Yu'shaa the Prophet, and he wished that he had the opportunity to do it to Kunra when he twisted Yu'shaa's words to that crowd of Shamed Ones to make it seem as if the Prophet was cheering them on when Nom Anor was trying to quell their rebellious spirit.

And the fact that Eruk revealed that he was still alive to the Galactic Alliance only heightened Nom Anor's wrath for her. She could have simply left him if she felt that he would put his life above hers, which he obviously would, and they would have never seen each other again. They could have just gone their separate ways and continue to survive out in the bowels of Vongformed Coruscant by themselves. Eruk would have never have to have gone to the Galactic Alliance in the first place!

But then again, given Nom Anor's suspicious nature, he probably would have hunted her down anyway. He would have come to the conclusion that she would have betrayed him to the Galactic Alliance forces here and would try to remove her as a threat. Perhaps telling on him was an assured move that _he_ would not be a threat to her again.

Then again, she still would not have had to tell on him had she gone to the GA; she wouldn't have had any need to tell them that Nom Anor was still here and alive. She could have just told them that she had survived out here all by herself, and the GA would have sent her long to Zonama Sekot, if anything. She would have never had to worry about Nom Anor ever again even as he continued to scour the ruins of this world. Again, he only felt more contempt for her because of this reasoning, and she had all the more reason to die for her treachery.

The question, of course, that remained was how Nom Anor could possibly reach Eruk if she was in the hands of the GA, if not already shuttled off to wherever Zonama Sekot was. And that was also assuming that they knew where the living world was by now, which was highly unlikely unless they somehow maintained contact with the living planet.

Nom Anor soon shook himself out of his reverie; over and above his desire for vengeance against Eruk, it was to survive, as it always was. After all, what was the point of vengeance if one didn't live long enough to see it through? So he headed on through this dark underground corridor, but stopped short once he saw, in the right intersection ahead, the glow of the familiar lambent from the other side.

Hurriedly, Nom Anor looked around to find some place to find. He spotted an ample-sized nook in the wall a little ahead and to his right, not too far away from the intersection where the glow of the lambent got brighter as its bearer approached. Thankfully, Nom Anor's steps made no noise, and he made it to the nook just in time for the bearer of the lambent to enter this part of the corridor.

Unfortunately, he turned in the opposite direction from where Nom Anor was heading, and the latter saw that the lambent holder was a male Shaper.

The Shaper walked past the nook, not noticing the hiding Nom Anor at first, but the moment that the Yuuzhan Vong scientist stopped, Nom Anor knew that the Shaper was about to do a double-take on the nook. So, just as the scientist turned toward the nook, Nom Anor fired a stream of venom from his plaeriyn bol, which hit the Shaper directly in the face.

But instead of his body dropping to the ground from instant numbing and subsequent death, the Shaper wiped the poison away, as if he were immune to it.

Nom Anor was stunned. Only when Jacen Solo had transformed his plaeryin bol poison into water after Onimi died had this ever happened to Nom Anor.

So the former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar launched himself at the distracted Shaper, pinned him against the wall behind him, and growled at him.

"How did you survive that?" he asked the scientist threateningly. Before he inevitably ended the Shaper's life, he had to know how exactly he survived the plaeriyn bol's venom.

"I inoculated against your poison, Nom Anor," the Shaper explained in an obviously intimidated tone, "just in case I ran into you in my exploration of this section of the Coruscant underground. Which I have."

The next thing Nom Anor knew, he felt a sharp protrusion pressing up against his ribs, and he looked to find a Galactic Alliance vibroblade, held in the Shaper's hand, ready to sink itself into through Nom Anor's clothing and into his flesh.

"And ever since that one Shaper was found dead with his throat slit, and it was determined that it was not a suicide by the investigative team, the Galactic Alliance compromised and allowed us to be armed with one of their vibroblades, at least," the Shaper elaborated. "Now, please, let me go, because I do not want to harm or kill you, especially for what you have done for my lover."

Reluctantly, his attention divided between the Shaper's face and the vibroblade, Nom Anor conceded with the scientist's demand and backed away from him. Besides, he was curious as to what the Shaper meant for what he did for whatever lover he was speaking of.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Nom Anor," the Shaper said. "I am Shaper Peraff Dulaana. I have risked my profession, and, more importantly, my life for convincing the Galactic Alliance that you had died during that chase that you found yourself in days ago. And I did it because your formation of the _Jeedai_ heresy brought me back with my lover, a Shamed warrior named T'krai, back into my arms, if only for a few brief moments. He had been saved from the dredges of the Yuuzhan Vong Elite's society because of you; and for that, I am eternally grateful."

"So I suppose that you convincing the Galactic Alliance that I had died at the end of that chase makes us even, Shaper Dulaana?" Nom Anor asked warily.

Dulaana shook his head. "Theoretically, it would. However, I still feel indebted to you, in spite of your reputation."

"If that is the case," Nom Anor said, getting an idea, "would you mind telling me what happened to the former warrior who informed the Galactic Alliance that I would be here?"

"She is being prepared to leave Coruscant and be transported to Zonama Sekot," Dulaana answered. "However, because the current location of the living planet is unknown even in the higher echelons of the Galactic Alliance - or so Master Shaper Kwaad, myself, and my fellow Shapers have all been told - an envoy from the Jedi Order has been dispatched to take Eruk to the living world."

"Why a Jedi envoy? How would the envoy know where the living planet was?"

"This Jedi had been to Zonama Sekot before," Dulaana elaborated. "I am not sure who exactly it is; only that he or she has been there previously, and that the Galactic Alliance believes that the prior connection that this Jedi established with it from that encounter would qualify that Jedi to find it through the Force."

The only two Jedi whom Nom Anor had been to Zonama Sekot were Corran Horn and Tahiri Veila, as he traveled with them, Harrar, and the late Nen Yim to the living world. So it was either those two, or perhaps it would be one other Jedi whom Nom Anor was unaware of being on the living planet.

"How long does the envoy have before he or she arrives to collect the former warrior?" Nom Anor asked.

"By now, two days, at most," Dulaana answered.

"Can you get me to wherever the former warrior is so that I may kill her for betraying me?"

"Not without getting you caught," Dulaana replied, "or without revealing me to have been aiding and abetting you, which would ruin me. I could go to a GA prison for the rest of my life and never see T'krai again. I do feel a great debt of gratitude, but there are some things I would not do for you, Nom Anor, especially since you are known for being untrustworthy."

"Then what good are you to me?" Nom Anor had wanted to ask, but kept to himself. His plaeryin bol was useless against Dulaana, and the Shaper had a vibroblade while Nom Anor had only his fists and wits with him; and he saw no way, aside from possibly getting lucky in a physical altercation against Dulaana, of winning when the latter had the upper hand.

"However, perhaps I can poison her for you," Dulaana said. "I can concoct a chemical that would be untraceable in an autopsy, before the Jedi envoy arrives to collect the former warrior. And I will keep on making sure that the Galactic Alliance thinks that you are dead while you continue to scurry around down here for your life."

Nom Anor stared back at Dulaana in a brief moment of thought. "I will want proof of the former warrior Kun Eruk's death," he finally said.

"You will get it," Dulaana replied with an assuring nod.

"And is it possible that you could arrange a discreet transportation off this planet for me?" Nom Anor inquired. "I would like to live somewhere much nicer than here." He waved his arms at his surroundings.

This time, Dulaana shook his head. "That, like getting you to Kun Eruk, would be impossible. Not without the GA knowing, of course."

"Indeed," Nom Anor agreed in mild frustration.

"Do you remember that building where, in its underground, you had killed that Shaper by slitting his throat?" Dulaana asked, changing the subject.

Nom Anor raised a brow. "What makes you think it was me and not, say, Kun Eruk?"

"A simple guess. But regardless, you remember it, yes?"

Nom Anor nodded.

"It has since been cleared of that investigation," Dulaana elaborated. "It is safe to return and has since been removed of the biological placements that our people were responsible for when we conquered this world. Meet me there in two days, and I will present you with evidence of Kun Eruk's death."

"How can I trust you not to be setting me up for a trap?"

"If I wanted you to be turned into the Galactic Alliance, alive or dead, I could do so right now," Dulaana said, bearing the vibroblade still in his hand. "I have enough combat training, courtesy of the GA, on account of that Shaper's murder, to defeat you in a fight. So I would have no need in wasting time to place you in a trap. Bear that in mind, even if you doubt my sincerity of my gratitude to you."

Nom Anor grimaced. "Very well. I will meet you there in two days."

Dulaana nodded as he sheathed the vibroblade and turned back in the direction he had previously headed to. Nom Anor also turned back in the direction he was going.

"Oh, and, Nom Anor," Dulaana called back, stopping in his tracks.

The former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar turned back to face the Shaper.

"Do not be spotted in the interim," Dulaana said before resuming his pace in the direction he was heading.


	18. Chapter 18

After Dulaana returned from his solo expedition in his selected section of the Coruscant underground, from which he met Nom Anor, he set to work as to how he would go about killing Kun Eruk.

Upon arriving at his console biot, he put in a request to commence another lone expedition that would take place in two days, right around the time that Eruk would die and around the time that he would meet Nom Anor to prove that she was no more. Dulaana was more than confident that neither Master Shaper Kwaad or any of the Galactic Alliance overseers would deny him the request, as they were always looking forward to seeing what new discoveries still existed out in the Vongformed fields of this planet so that methods could be planned out to rid whatever areas were filled with Yuuzhan Vong terraforming.

On his console biot, Dulaana received Kwaad's approval for his next expedition within minutes of sending his request in. With that settled, he looked into the cell that Eruk was placed in; Dulaana then looked at her meal schedule and saw what times were available to poison her via her breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

The next step was to head over to the biolab that the GA overseers still allowed the Shapers here to use. It took only a few moments to attain clearance from the now-bored guards; earlier, during the reconstruction effort, the guards around here were mighty suspicious with looking over whatever the Shapers were doing around here. Now they treated them like they were no more harmless than bureaucratic politicians, and the security around here had become relatively lax as a result.

He told the guards that he would be working on more chemicals that would cleanse his selected area of the planet of his people's terraforming. He would do that later, of course, and if they asked, he would simply tell them that he made such and such errors on his previous batch, which would force him to make a new one. That new batch, though, would be the set of chemicals that he would use to cleanse more of Coruscant, but this time, he would be working on the untraceable poison that would end Kun Eruk's life.

It took him about as long as it did to make his usual round of chemical concoctions, and he nodded to the semi-trusting guards as he passed them with his tray of chemicals, one of which actually had the poison.

Now came the tricky part: getting the poison into Eruk's food and/or water.

It wasn't much of a diversion from his usual pathway to his office, where he would store his chemicals for later use, as he took the turbolift to the level where the Coruscant Operation Center for Reforming the Planet's pantry was. There, knowing that there were vidcams mounted at various intervals along the corridor's ceiling, Dulaana discretely opened up a vial of colorless mist from within his Shaper's robes. The mist traveled down the otherwise empty corridor, putting each of the cameras on a loop cycle that lasted for several seconds at each interval; Dulaana knew that the loop itself would last for several hours before resuming its regular operations, and he had been out of all of their sights from where he was in the corridor.

With that, Dulaana walked down the corridor, pushing his tray of chemicals before him, until he reached the storage room with the food. It was locked, as expected, but with another vial of mist, this time from the tray, he placed the open container up to the locking mechanism, where it tricked the door into opening up for him.

He then walked in and looked around to see which food he should poison; he soon found a section of the storage room that was marked via a label on the ceiling, which said **Prisoner Food**. A little direct, Dulaana thought, but clear and effective.

With careful but hurried actions, Dulaana had all the food that Kun Eruk would eat poisoned from the contents of his most important vial.

Once he was done, he turned and left the room, closing and locking it back up, before turning and heading back the rest of the way to his office. There, he would sleep for the night, as he always had since joining the team that was reforming Coruscant, and wait for morning to come, when Eruk was to receive her poisoned breakfast.

.

In the morning, the Jedi envoy, Mara Jade Skywalker, dropped out into the Coruscant system via her ship, the _Jade Shadow_, sooner than expected.

Ever since Luke died, Mara had been on mourning leave on Denon, where the Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance were now commencing their concentrated operations. And while she still felt a deep, profound loss over her husband's death, she knew that she had to get back out into the field, to try to make a difference in the postwar galaxy, as Luke would have wanted.

So she had went up to Kenth Hamner and practically demanded that he give her a mission.

"Are you sure?" he had asked her.

Mara had nodded. "I have to do this, more for my own good than anyone else's, honestly."

Hamner looked skeptical, but said, "You're in luck then. I was about to assign Corran Horn or Saba Sebatyne this mission, but you'll do just as well. There has been a Yuuzhan Vong straggler discovered on Coruscant. She has surrendered herself, and the Galactic Alliance overseers there want to have her deported to Zonama Sekot. Seeing as how you're one of the Jedi who has been to Zonama Sekot, Mara, you may have an easier time looking for it, what with your familiarity with its presence."

"I'll take the assignment," she said.

Now she had arrived on Coruscant, about a day or so before she was actually expected, and she was now being hailed on her inset comm console.

"_Jade Shadow_, you are cleared to land," the authoritative voice on the other end said after Mara went through all the bureaucratic formalities with him. "Follow the coordinates that have been sent to you."

"Thank you," Mara said before shutting off the communication. She then gunned the _Shadow_ forward toward the reforming Coruscant.

There, she landed in the Coruscant Operations Center for Reforming the Planet's hangar bay, and after cycling the _Shadow_ down and disembarking, she was met by Principal Overseer - a special title for this operation - Pash Cracken.

"A little early, aren't you, Master Skywalker?" Cracken commented. "Barely anyone's got their breakfast yet, including the prisoner."

"I like to get things done as soon as possible, Overseer Cracken," Mara said stoically.

Her tone made Cracken's mildly jovial tone darken. "I am sorry about what happened to Luke. He was a good man."

"I've been hearing that a lot," Mara replied, no more emotional than before.

Cracken waved at her as he turned. "C'mon. I'll take you to the prisoner."

.

The tray carrying the plate of tasteless, grey clump of gruel and the plastic bottle of water slid through the slot of Eruk's cell door to clatter along the floor. With mild reluctance, Eruk stood up from her cot and drudged herself over to the gruel and water, where she picked up the tray and headed back to the cot.

At times like this, Eruk wished that she was back among the ruins of terraformed Coruscant; at least the rodents that she and Nom Anor cooked and ate had some flavor to them. Sure, Eruk had eaten food that was just as unappealing back when she was still among the warriors' ranks, but after having all those delicious rodents, she found herself wanting for something better. Maybe she would get some genuinely good food once she was on Zonama Sekot.

She stirred the clump of gruel on her spoon, unaware of the danger that the tasteless poison beneath her would provide, and was about to put it in her mouth when there was a knock on her door. She stopped short and placed her breakfast off to the side of her cot as the man who interrogated her upon her arrival here entered, along with a light-skinned, redheaded human woman whom Eruk was familiar with via pictures of the Yuuzhan Vong's encounters with the Jedi.

Mara Jade Skywalker.

The man introduced Skywalker to Eruk and said, "She's here to take you to Zonama Sekot. You leave as soon as you're ready."

Eruk looked at the waiting, and secretly poisoned, pile of gruel before returning her attention to Skywalker.

"Do you have anything aboard your ship that I can sustain myself with?" the former warrior asked. "As bland as this food is, I would prefer to have my breakfast first."

"Well, I don't know if my ship has any food that's suitable to a Yuuzhan Vong diet, so go ahead," Skywalker said with a wave. "I can wait."

The man looked at Skywalker with a curious look. "I thought you said that you wanted to get things done ASAP?"

Eruk ignored what the man said as she placed the spoon of gruel toward her mouth. But before the tasteless food could touch her palate, she was stopped again, this time by Skywalker's hand on her wrist.

Skywalker's off hand then took the spoon out of the concerned Eruk's hand, released her hold on the former warrior, and reached for her datapad on her belt. She activated it, briefly waved it over the gruel, and grimaced.

"Just as I thought," Skywalker muttered before flinging the spoon off to the side of the cell. She then returned her attention back to Eruk. "My Force-senses told me that there was something dangerous to this food. It's been poisoned; you would have died in minutes had you eaten that." She pointed to the plate of gruel.

"Poisoned?" the man behind Skywalker asked. "But how could that be? We made all the regular inspections prior to placing all the food and water we had in the building's pantry! And we have vidcams mounted along the way there in case anyone was foolish enough to try to poison the food! We would have known if this were poisoned!"

Skywalker turned back to the man. "Show me your recording vidcam records from just the past day and see if we can't find anything." She looked back at Eruk and pointed to her. "You, you're coming with us."

Eruk voiced no objections as she stood up and left with Skywalker and the man.

.

Dulaana waited in his office, expecting word from his villip from Master Kwaad or somebody that Kun Eruk had been mysteriously poisoned. However, he received no such word, and he knew that he couldn't go by the cell block of the building, otherwise he would look suspicious to the vidcams; and even if he could put them all on a loop, he sure wouldn't be able to fool the human guard who was there overlooking everything physically.

He waited for quite a while until he stood up and was about to head over to the biot console room to see if there was any work he could do when the door to his office had burst open. Two Galactic Alliance guards armed with blaster rifles entered, all of them aiming at Dulaana, who instinctively raised his arms into the air before either of them could issue the order.

Behind them, Principal Overseer Pash Cracken and a woman whom Dulaana identified as Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker entered the room, staring laser bolts at the Shaper.

And right behind them, staring angrily at Dulaana, was Kun Eruk.

Upon seeing the former warrior, Dulaana realized with dread and loss that his plan had been foiled and he had been caught somehow.

"We looked over the vidcam recordings from last night, Shaper Dulaana," Cracken elaborated, as if the Shaper had actually asked what was going on. "We found that the ones that were stationed along the way to the pantry were all on a loop for several hours. Once we cracked the loop, thanks to the help of one of your fellow Shapers, we found you traveling down the corridor with your tray of chemicals before entering the pantry. And before we discovered that, Jedi Master Skywalker over here discovered that Kun Eruk's breakfast had been poisoned.

"Now, Shaper Dulaana, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Dulaana swallowed nervously. He knew that he wasn't going to get out of this one lying; the GA had ways of getting past and even through that. His only hope was that when he told the truth, he could come out of this alive and with even a sliver of hope of seeing T'krai again.

"Okay, I tried to poison Kun Eruk, Overseer Cracken," he admitted easily.

"Why?" Eruk was the one to ask.

He found himself looking at her and her death-promising stare. "I did it for Nom Anor!"

"Nom Anor?!" Skywalker exclaimed in disbelief.

In a flash, she reached Dulaana with Force-enhanced speed, and before he knew it, he was pinned to his back on his desk.

"What do you mean Nom Anor?" she asked with a growl. "He died at the end of the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar!"

Dulaana shook his head in terror. "No, he didn't! Ask anyone else in this room! Ask Kun Eruk, ask Overseer Cracken! They can verify this!"

Still keeping Dulaana pinned to his desk, Skywalker looked over at Cracken.

"Is this true?" she asked.

Cracken nodded, although he looked slightly nervous himself. "Kun Eruk told us. But we thought he died after we pursued him not too long ago." He looked past Skywalker and back at Dulaana. "You told us he perished in that crash!"

"I faked the record!" Dulaana confessed. "I did it because I owe him! Without him, in his role as Yu'shaa the Prophet, I would have never seen my beloved T'krai again! That is why I tried to poison Kun Eruk! Because he wanted her dead for betraying him to the Galactic Alliance!"

Skywalker hefted Dulaana up from his desk so that their faces were closer together. "If you don't tell us where Nom Anor is right now, I promise you you'll never see T'krai again!"

"I do not know where he is now, but-"

Dulaana was cut off from saying anymore as Skywalker unhooked her lightsaber from her belt and activated its blue blade.

"But! But!" Dulaana screamed, stopping Skywalker from killing him. "I know where he will be by tomorrow!"

"Where?!"

"If I tell you, will I see T'krai again?"

"You are in no position to bargain right now," Skywalker interrupted. "Where will Nom Anor be?"

Dulaana sighed before giving her the answer.

.

Nom Anor realized that Dulaana didn't specify at what exact time that they should meet at the very building where Nom Anor arrived to following the end of the war. So he simply waited here, having arrived at the end of the previous day, where he saw that the entire area, for at least a klick or so, had been removed of the Yuuzhan Vong's terraforming and was returned to at least some of its former urban glory.

A few buildings here and there had been leveled and destroyed, most likely thanks to Nom Anor's people's invasion of the planet. But otherwise, there was no a single hint or yorik coral, algae, or anything other kind of Yuuzhan Vong plant life in sight for a klick around. Even the dead, decayed bodies that were littered around were gone.

Nom Anor continued to wait for Dulaana, sitting at the threshold of the door from which he expected the Shaper to arrive and provide him whatever proof he had of Eruk's death. He stood up once he heard footsteps, and hid behind the corner of the door, hoping that it was, indeed, Dulaana and not anybody else.

The Shaper stepped in through the door and looked around, finding Nom Anor instantly to his left. The former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar stepped into full view of the door to properly converse with Dulaana.

But just as Nom Anor opened his mouth to speak, he was suddenly kicked in the side facing the door, and he was flung bodily across the room before collapsing to his back against the floor. When he looked up, he saw an all-too familiar redheaded figure swinging into the building from a metallic cable that was latched onto something outside. She released the ascension gun that produced the cable before commencing a midair back-flip from which she then broke out of by landing on the floor in a cat-like crouch.

She stood up to her full height and stared down at the already downed Nom Anor, who gazed back at Mara Jade Skywalker in fear.

His frightened stare at Mara became one of anger once he saw Kun Eruk step in through the building's entrance, her expression matching his. He then looked over at Dulaana, who had his hands raised.

"I swear, I did not betray you," the Shaper told him. "They forced me to tell-"

"You," Mara interrupted, looking over at Dulaana. "Shut up."

Dulaana bowed his head in obeisance as Eruk joined Mara in looking down at Nom Anor.

"Tell me how you survived," Mara said to the former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, "and I might just well let you live."

Instead of responding verbally, Nom Anor responded by spitting a stream of venom from his plaeriyn bol that he hoped would encompass both Mara and Eruk.

But the Jedi already had her blue-bladed lightsaber out, active, and evaporating the venomous stream, saving both herself and Eruk. She then reached out with her off hand and used the Force to rip the plaeriyn bol out of Nom Anor's empty eye socket. The false eye flew toward Mara, and she completely disintegrated it with her blade.

"Now," Mara said, "I will give you one last chance. Answer my question, or I promise I will kill you."

Nom Anor grimaced. That was his only chance of killing these two; and he knew that he couldn't outrun Mara. So, if he had any chance at all of living, he would have to acquiesce to her, just as he had when she confronted him during the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar.

"The escape ship that the Solos and I were aboard," he began explaining, "had an extra landing craft that I could use to escape. So I took it, and I lived, as you can now plainly see."

"Indeed," Mara replied, her tone betraying nothing as she deactivated her lightsaber and hooked it back upon her belt. "Come with me if you want to live."

All the Yuuzhan Vong in the room looked at her incredulously.

"I promised you," Mara said to Nom Anor, "when we last met that I wouldn't kill you because I wanted to see you stand trial for the crimes that you've committed. I thought you weaseled your way out of it by letting yourself die aboard that ship. But now, here you are, and I have a chance at fulfilling my promise."

She then stood out of the way of the exit of the building and waved at it. "After you," Mara said.


	19. Chapter 19

On the homeworld of the Aing-Tii, it took Jacen a few days to master the art of the aliens' teleportation method, if to a limited degree. Tadar'Ro remarked at the impeccable speed at which his human disciple learned to teleport objects from one location to another, even if it was a mere five meters or so.

"Given your openness to the Force, as I have mentioned," Tadar'Ro had said sometime during those few days, "you are mastering it about as well as any other Aing-Tii, Jacen. It took a significantly longer time with Jorj Car'das, of course, but it was not much so much as his limited connection to the Force as it was to his narrow-mindedness in life that prevented him from learning the technique so quickly.

"It is because of the doubts in yourself, your ability to accept that for all your training and knowledge in the Force, that you are willing to accept that you still have much to learn, that you are, in a way, still a child who needs education. And for all that, you do not allow any preconceptions that stem from your established views of the Force to cloud your judgment as to what the Force should be or how it should work.

"As well, I sense that you seek inspiration from within your past; from someone you feel close to. Is that true?"

Jacen had flushed when Tadar'Ro asked this. Images of Danni Quee continued to flash through his mind, and how he felt so guilty that he just let whatever they had fizzle into nothingness; again, as if his guilt over Uncle Luke's death wasn't enough.

"Your silence tells me enough," Tadar'Ro commented.

By the end of those few days, Tadar'Ro told him that he had enough training in the teleportation technique, especially since he wouldn't be here long anyway; Tadar'Ro believed that there was at least one another technique that he should help Jacen learn: flow-walking.

"What is flow-walking, Tadar'Ro?" Jacen asked.

"The ability to see into the past," Tadar'Ro told him. "In a way, it is an extension of the teleportation technique, only that you can transport yourself back through time, but without altering anything in the past. You will not be able to interact with your environment, and no one will be able to perceive that you are even there, because you, of course, never were."

"Like watching a holodrama," Jacen remarked, mostly to himself.

"Something along those lines," Tadar'Ro admitted. "However, in order for this to even work, Jacen, you actually have to be at the site from which the event that you are looking for occurred. For this, I will help you. You are to look for Jorj Car'das when he learned under my teaching, and we are already here."

After extensive breathing exercises, and a mental extension to think of his own past, a minor technique that acted as a precursor to flow-walking, Jacen had traveled back several years. And there, in the very site where Tadar'Ro was training him now, in one of the Aing-Tii homeworld's many forests, Jacen watched as Jorj Car'das was being taught the teleportation method by Tadar'Ro.

After sitting and watching Car'das master the art of teleportation for quite a number of hours, the present Tadar'Ro, who traveled with Jacen here, came up from beside him and said, "You have a visitor, Jacen."

And just like that, the flow-walking fell away from Jacen's mind, and he was back in the present, with Tadar'Ro still standing beside him and Jorj Car'das no longer there.

Jacen stood up and followed the Aing-Tii out of the forest and toward the location where he had landed the _Solo Quest. _With the YT-2400 was another ship, an X-wing, and dropping down from the starfighter's open canopy was a familiar male Barabel.

Jacen smiled at the Jedi Knight and gave him a gracious bow. "Tesar! It's great to see you again!"

Tesar Sebatyne reciprocated the bow. "Greetingz, Jacen. I agree that it iz great to see you az well. However, thiz is not a social vizit; I am here to let you know that you must return to Coruscant immediately."

"Coruscant?" Jacen asked. "Why there? Isn't it still being reconstructed by the Galactic Alliance Restoration Oversight Committee and the Yuuzhan Vong Shapers there?"

Tesar hissed in amused laughter, something that Barabels had a tendency to do at whatever strange things they found to be funny, and he cut it out when he nodded. "Because you are to give testimony in Nom Anor's trial."

.

A few days later, after a regretful goodbye to Tadar'Ro and the other Aing-Tii there, saying that he couldn't stay any longer, Jacen had the _Solo Quest_ drop out of hyperspace and back into the Coruscant system. Minutes after that, he was escorted down to the system's namesake planet by a couple of X-wings, and from there, he was led into a makeshift courthouse nearby the Coruscant Operations Center for Reforming the Planet.

There, he was seated by two armed guards in one of the courtroom's pews; and he found that he was sitting across the aisle from his parents, sister, and aunt, who gave him one, unified silent look before turning back to the rest of the court ahead.

Jacen felt mildly hurt that his family was shunning him like this; from their reserved Force-presences - even from his non-Force-sensitive father Han - he could tell that they still felt like he wasn't to be spoken to. And he knew that it had more to do than just missing Uncle Luke's funeral - it had to do with Jacen abandoning his duties as a Jedi Knight when he quit the Order and went off on his sojourn.

At this point, he wondered if apologizing to them would be a good idea. Would they even accept his apology and allow him to rejoin the family?

Sighing, he looked around at the rest of the courtroom, which was made up of various other high-level Galactic Alliance dignitaries, with certain exceptions - such as Chief of State Cal Omas, Jedi Master Kenth Hamner, and Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey - absent from the proceedings, no doubt because they had more important duties in collecting the power that the New Republic had lost.

At the front of the room, on the prosecutor's side, sat a female Yuuzhan Vong named Kun Eruk who looked like she was once of the warrior caste, next to her attorney, a male Ithorian named Chek'nev'ek Ryug'ark.

And across the aisle sat two male Yuuzhan Vong and their own attorneys; the Shaper, Peraff Dulaana, had a female Caamasi sitting with him while the other Yuuzhan Vong, with whom Jacen was all too familiar, had a male Duros with him.

And sitting there now, seeing that Nom Anor was still alive after everything that had gone on, made Jacen slightly sick. Why did Nom Anor get to live through the war and Uncle Luke didn't? Luke Skywalker was among the greatest of heroes in galactic history, while Nom Anor was one of the most cowardly, most wretched villains in galactic history.

No doubt Jacen's family was probably thinking the same thing, he thought. He was surprised that Aunt Mara let him live, all things considered.

The trial soon began, with everyone rising in the presence of Her Honor Wassetk Her'oalna, a grey-furred Bothan, as she entered the room and seated herself within her podium.

Jacen looked over at Nom Anor and Dulaana's faces; given that Bothans still had a societal vow of _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong for Borsk Fey'lya's death during the Fall of Coruscant, even though the Galactic Alliance condemned the furry aliens' vow of genocide against the former invaders, both Nom Anor and Peraff Dulaana knew that the odds were far from their favor with a Bothan judge.

"Sit," Her'oalna told the rest of the compliant court.

From there, the trial went on as scheduled for the day, with the defense barely mounting a case for Nom Anor and Peraff Dulaana, and it was obviously harder for Nom Anor, given all the atrocities he committed during the war. Naturally, the prosecution had a field day with tearing apart Nom Anor, while the case with Dulaana was more of a fair fight, given that Dulaana had been well-respected by his peers amongst the Shaper community prior to his treachery.

Jacen doubted that just because he helped fan the flames of the heresy that contributed to the Yuuzhan Vong Elite's downfall that Nom Anor would get any less than a death sentence for his crimes; and he figured that Dulaana might not make it out of here without being sent to prison for life, at most. This trial would be over, with the military jury making their decision, in one day.

But surprisingly, Her Honor Her'oalna called for a recess, and the trial would resume for the next day, something that many in the court, including Jacen's family, found mildly weird, if not outright suspicious. Nevertheless, Jacen returned for the rest of the day to the _Solo Quest_ and decided to simply meditate, in the traditional Jedi way, on the floor of his cabin in peace.

The next day, many people in the court, including Mara, Han, Leia, and Jaina, were brought up to offer testimony for Nom Anor's actions. All of them were fairly negative, obviously, and at the end of each testimony, Judge Her'oalna asked them, "Do you believe that Nom Anor deserves to go to Zonama Sekot, with the rest of his people, or be sentenced to death?"

"The Yuuzhan Vong did what they thought was right, as much as I hate to admit it," Jaina answered when she was asked. "When they surrendered, they did so believing they had nothing left, and for that, they deserved salvation. Nom Anor doesn't; everything he did, he did for himself, and that is why he doesn't deserve to be among his people."

"Nom Anor was cruel, manipulative, and deceptive, even among his own people," Leia answered when she was asked. "When you, among a society of barbarians, have fewer to none of the principles that your people have, then you don't deserve salvation."

"Give 'im the killtab, I say," Han answered when he was asked. "And besides, he tried to kill Zonama Sekot before; who here honestly thinks he won't try again?"

"If given the chance, I'd kill him myself," Mara answered when she was asked. "But I'd be more than satisfied in watching someone else dole out his execution."

Very few of the other testimonies actually vouched for Nom Anor to return to Zonama Sekot with his people.

Jacen's own testimony was one of those few.

"Death would be too easy for him," Jacen answered when he was asked. "By making him an occupant of Zonama Sekot, he will have to learn to become a decent sentient being. For a sentient such as Nom Anor, that would be a fate worse than death... in my opinion."

By the end of the testimonies against Nom Anor, there was some concentration on Peraff Dulaana's case, but not as much compared to Nom Anor.

In the end, the military jury came to their conclusion: Guilty, as was obvious.

But what wasn't obvious was Her Honor Her'oalna's sentence: "Nom Anor, you are found guilty, and I hereby sentence you to... Zonama Sekot." She banged her gavel, much to the disapproving moans of the rest of the court. The Bothan banged her gavel again to return silence to the room, and she elaborated to Nom Anor, "Knowing all that you have done, even if it was in your own self-interest, I see that your actions were still nevertheless in line with what your superiors in the Yuuzhan Vong Elite had wanted; and those that were not were to their detriment, as demonstrated by your leadership of the Jedi heresy among your people's lower castes.

"Therefore, I have concluded that you, having done no more wrong than what was expected of you, has as much of a right to join those Yuuzhan Vong who have survived the war, such as former Warmaster Nas Choka and former High Priest Jakan, to the living planet, where the rest of your people now seek redemption for what their elite society has done." She banged her gavel one more time, indicating that she was done with Nom Anor's case.

She later came to the same conclusion with Dulaana when his guilty verdict had been up; so it then became a question as to who was to bring Nom Anor, Dulaana, and Kun Eruk to Zonama Sekot.

"To minimize the dangers that would come with transporting all three of these Yuuzhan Vong to Zonama Sekot," Her'oalna said once the matter of transportation came up, "I believe that it would be best if each of them were to be transported by a different ship. Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker will transport Kun Eruk to Zonama Sekot, as was previously agreed and planned upon. However, I will ask Jaina Solo if she would be willing to transport Peraff Dulaana to Zonama Sekot and if Jacen Solo would be willing to transport Nom Anor."

Jaina stood up from her seat. "I am willing to transport Peraff Dulaana, Your Honor."

Her'oalna nodded. "I will speak to Jedi Master Hamner about this to confirm that you may set off for this mission, Jedi Solo." She then looked at Jacen, who promptly stood up from his own seat.

"I will put a hiatus on my sojourn to deliver Nom Anor to Zonama Sekot, Your Honor," he told the judge.

"Very well," Her'oalna said before banging her gavel. "This trial is over."


	20. Chapter 20

On the fifth hyperspace jump between Coruscant and the Unknown Regions, Jacen opened the door of the _Solo Quest_'s guest cabin and brought a plate of food and a glass of water over to Nom Anor's bed. The Yuuzhan Vong gave him a blank look from where he sat on the bed, stuncuffed to its frame.

"I will have to use the refresher at some point," Nom Anor stated.

"Then I'll escort you when the time comes," Jacen countered.

Nom Anor's expression became sardonic. "Are you going to be in there with me?"

"No, not necessarily. After all, we are in outer space, so where can you go, and really, what could you use, especially against me? And remember, don't think you can pull a fast one on me, because-"

"Yes, yes, I remember, your _Vongsense_," Nom Anor interrupted. "I do recall that quite well." He remembered when he tried to fool Jacen and his family into stepping into that garbage chute aboard Onimi's escape vessel, only for Jacen to sense his deception through the extended perception from which he could feel Yuuzhan Vong.

Jacen couldn't help but grin. "Just be glad my parents aren't transporting you; otherwise, my mom might cut off your other hand." There was no need to bring up Mara; that pretty much went without saying, and Jacen knew that Nom Anor knew that.

Nom Anor sighed in irritation, looking at the artificial mechanical hand - the one that wasn't stuncuffed to the bed's frame - that he used to replace the one that he lost to Leia Organa Solo's lightsaber, shortly after his failed attempt to send the Solos into that garbage chute.

"Oh, how I feel so relieved," Nom Anor said sarcastically. "I'm being transported by someone who can read my thoughts and feelings, and who'd be aware if I tried to betray him. That's such a freeing thought."

Jacen knew that he should probably leave the Yuuzhan Vong alone at this point. But, in spite of his desire to achieve an ineffable connection to the Force, one unsullied by such base human desires such as vindication, it felt good to egg Nom Anor on for all that he had done to the New Republic, to Jacen, and his friends and family.

"You know, speaking of your other hand," Jacen went on, "I see you went and got yourself an artificial hand. Hard to believe you found that in the terraformed ruins of Coruscant."

"I was surprised myself," Nom Anor replied in a tone that said that he wanted Jacen to just go away.

"But you know what's harder to believe?" Jacen retorted. "That you, someone who said that you couldn't relate to either your people because of your atheism, nor could you relate to the native peoples of the galaxy because you still kinda find some of our values - namely, our reliance on mechanical technology - to be quite abhorrent; that's quite fascinating when you have all that with you." He pointed to the mechanical hand.

"I understand that mechanical technology isn't inherently abhorrent," Nom Anor said. "So I make do with what I have to survive." He flexed his mechanical fingers.

"You still find it kinda uncomfortable, havin' that thing, don't ya?" Jacen inquired in a mock-innocent tone.

Nom Anor stifled a growl. "For someone who views the motive of revenge to be petty, you seem to be basking in it right now."

"When did I ever say revenge was petty?"

"You didn't have to say it; you've demonstrated it in your actions throughout the war. Even when you were driven to near-insanity by Vergere, I could see that the motive for killing out of vengeance was something that you couldn't bring yourself to do."

Jacen gave his charge a wry grin. "Quite observant with that one eye, huh, Nom Anor? Yes, I do see killing out of vengeance to be quite petty; it's why I vouched that you continued to live, after all. But I think that, if anything, a good ribbing here and there is the least you deserve after all you've done."

"Good ribbing?" Nom Anor inquired. "You make it sound as if you and I have been long, dear friends instead of enemies."

"I guess I am being kinda nice," Jacen agreed. "But you know what? It's what makes me feel confident that I'm better than you. Especially after I spared your life back aboard the _Baanu Rass_."

Nom Anor looked back at Jacen with a silent, inquisitive gaze.

Jacen cocked his head. "That's right. Back over Myrkr, when my strike team and I were in a firefight with you and your lackeys. I had a shot at killing you, you know. But I didn't; even in the heat of combat, even when I had every conceivable, righteous reason to kill you, I deliberately held back, because I knew that if I were to have taken your life right then and there, I would've been killing you in vengeance, and that wasn't something I was willing to live with. I didn't wanna have my soul tainted with what I believed then to be the dark side of the Force, as had happened to Corran Horn when he killed Shedao Shai on Ithor."

Nom Anor shrugged. "Am I supposed to feel grateful that you spared my life?"

"It'd be nice," Jacen admitted coolly.

Nom Anor smirked. "Well, I'd feel especially grateful if you were to let me go and let me off on a planet that isn't likely to have former Yuuzhan Vong Elite members who'd want me dead for my actions as Yu'shaa the Prophet of the Shamed."

Jacen returned the smirk. "There's a difference to not wanting revenge and seeking justice. Me bringing you to Zonama Sekot? That's justice. It's what the rest of your people got, and it's what you're gonna get."

Nom Anor gave an unenthusiastic chuckle. "You should have killed me."

Jacen looked directly at Nom Anor with a blank expression.

"You should have killed me," the Yuuzhan Vong repeated. "It would have been a much quicker death, at any rate."

"Well, like I said back in that courtroom," Jacen said, "it would've been too good for you."

Nom Anor sighed. "You know, Jacen, in a way, you are achieving a vengeance upon me greater than any execution by your hand could have wrought. You simply draw out my life, sending me from what freedom I had back in the ruins of Coruscant to a dangerous prison from which I will surely die by the hands of a disgruntled former elite. And all because of all that I've helped done to this galaxy. You're more prone to retribution than anyone of your friends or family who'd simply want me dead."

"And yet I'm not as likely to kill you as you'd wanna do to Kun Eruk and Peraff Dulaana," Jacen pointed out, "and really, all Eruk did was betray you once while Dulaana simply failed you. Tell me, Nom Anor, have you ever wished such vindication on someone that you thought that death was too good for 'em?"

Nom Anor actually thought about it. He'd always been a practical man, someone who, when he put his mind to it, always went about accomplishing tasks in the most efficient ways possible. And whenever he wished vengeance on somebody, he'd always want his enemies to simply be dead; after all, letting them live only offered them further chances to kill him.

"I didn't think so," Jacen said when Nom Anor remained quiet for too long. "Enjoy your meal, and ping me if you need to use the 'fresher." He turned and headed for the exit of the guest cabin.

"Would you avenge your uncle if given the chance?"

Nom Anor's question stopped Jacen in his tracks, and the human turned to face the seated alien with the same blank expression he had when the Yuuzhan Vong told him that he, Jacen, should have killed him.

"I know that your uncle is dead," Nom Anor elaborated. "I discerned it from the trial; never mind his absence there. Kenth Hamner having authority over the Jedi Order? I could hardly believe that the great and legendary Luke Skywalker would resign or be forced to resign from the Jedi Order in the aftermath of the war. Shimrra's amphistaff venom killed him, didn't it?"

Jacen didn't say anything, but his silence was the answer that Nom Anor needed, allowing the Yuuzhan Vong to grin.

"So, tell me, Jacen," Nom Anor said, "would you avenge your uncle if given the chance?"

"He wouldn't want-"

"It's not what he would have wanted," Nom Anor interrupted. "It's what _you_ want. Would you have avenged your uncle if you could?"

Jacen opened his mouth to say no, only to find that he couldn't utter the word. He felt that if he did, he would have been lying to himself more than to Nom Anor.

But he wouldn't offer the alien the satisfaction, so he turned back again and took a few more steps to the door.

"Yes, walk away like the disgraced Jedi you are. The one who was kicked out of the Order because his views were just oh so incongruous to the rest of the Jedi's ideals."

"I wasn't kicked out," Jacen replied without turning back. "I left." And with no further prompts from Nom Anor, he finally, and mercifully, left the cabin.


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as the _Solo Quest_, the _Jade Shadow_, and the Jedi Order Skipray Blastboat piloted by Jaina had made their first hyperspace dropout point in the Unknown Regions, all three ships found themselves in something that should have been expected, but was nevertheless a complete surprise.

They all ended up facing a trio of Bothan Assault Cruisers.

And before either of the smaller ships had anytime to react, each of the Cruisers had the Yuuzhan Vong-carrying ships placed into a separate tractor beam, preventing the smaller ships from having any movement.

Then the _Quest_, the _Shadow_, and the Blastboat all received a hail, which Jacen, Mara, and Jaina all answered simultaneously.

"Attention, Jedi," a rough male Bothan voice said from the other end. "I am Captain Derapp Joil'ask of the _Vindicator_. Surrender the Yuuzhan Vong that you have aboard your ships to us, or you will be destroyed. You each have ten seconds to reply."

Aboard the _Quest_, Jacen gritted his teeth in frustration, thinking fast, just as his aunt and sister were doing aboard their own ships. Obviously, none of them could move because of the tractor beams, and they couldn't fire any weapons upon the emitters, as numerous failsafes had been developed since that trick had been deployed in military confrontations that originated from the Thrawn era onward.

One of those failsafes was that if anyone were to fire upon the ship that was tractoring them, it would trigger a feedback loop that would destroy the ship that tried to fire on its captor vessel.

In the midst of his panic, Jacen saw that he had only five seconds left before the Assault Cruisers would destroy the _Quest_ and the other two ships.

So, seeing no other alternative, Jacen closed his eyes and immersed himself in the Force, as he thought would be the most logical solution, even as Mara and Jaina were about to reply to the Assault Cruisers.

The solution soon came to Jacen's mind within the remaining two seconds: short out the tractor beams using the _ayna-seff_.

From Jacen's utilization of electricity, all functions within the Assault Cruisers' tractor beams ceased in an instant, allowing their captive ships to escape from their grasps.

Jacen allowed himself to smile in glee over his achievement, only to receive blaring alarms from his ship's console warning him of incoming turbolaser fire from the Cruiser that had lost its grasp on the _Quest_. So he threw his own vessel into a downward spiral that brought the _Quest_ out of the path of the lasers, and he spun the ship around to head away from the Cruiser trio.

In the midst of his laser-dodging maneuvers, he managed to comm his aunt and sister.

"We're gonna have to divert from our previous course!" he told them hurriedly even as his right hand activated the _Quest_'s paralight system.

Within moments, the ship's computer processed a set of viable hyperspace coordinates and Jacen picked one of them before he sent them to Mara and Jaina.

"We'll be going here!" he continued over the comm. "Now follow me!"

"But they'll follow _us_, too, nerf-for-brains!" Jaina pointed out. "They're probably even listening over this comm frequency!"

"We're not on an encrypted line!" Mara followed up.

Jacen grimaced. "Well, it'll have to do! We have to get out of this or we'll be blown to bits!"

Jaina's groan was audible over the comm. "Fine."

"Fine," Mara reluctantly agreed.

And within moments, even as the turbolasers of the pursuing Bothan Assault Cruisers started to buck against the fleeing ships' rear deflector shields, the forward viewports of the _Solo Quest_, _Jade Shadow_, and Jaina's Blastboat went from showing the star-studded black background of regular space to the line-streaked blue of hyperspace.

Jacen then sunk back against the pilot seat in relief, though he knew that Mara and Jaina were right; even if the Bothans hadn't overhead their comm conversation, they probably had tracked their hyperspace jump points and were no doubt able to catch up with the Jedi ships upon arriving at the next dropout point.

Thankfully, though, at the next dropout point, Jacen intended to use the planet there as a place from which he, Mara, and Jaina could potentially make a stand against the pursuing Cruisers.

Unfortunately, since they were in hyperspace, direct communication with his aunt and sister was impossible, and the only other way that he could possibly contact them was through the Force.

So he reached out for them, only to feel their reluctance to communicate with him.

Jacen sighed. He had hoped that, if for no other reason, his aunt and sister would be willing to communicate with him for the express purpose of figuring out what they should do with the Bothans who were after them.

Jaina gave him a distinct Force-impression through their twin bond that let him know that she knew where the coordinates that he gave her and Mara would lead to. Thus, Jaina would at least have a plan as to what she could do for herself, and Jacen got a similar impression from his more distant aunt.

Because of that, Jacen knew that neither Jaina nor Mara had any further reason to commune with him.

Sighing again, Jacen allowed himself a moment to feel sorry for himself before finally taking notice of the incessant chiming that emitted from the console before him; the signal was coming from the guest cabin, where Nom Anor was stuncuffed against his bed.

Groaning, Jacen stood up from his seat and headed back to check up on his charge.

"What was all that?!" Nom Anor exclaimed the moment Jacen walked into the room.

"We were ambushed by Bothan Assault Cruisers," Jacen explained evenly.

"Bothan Assault Cruisers?" Nom Anor inquired. "You mean Bothans who still wish their genocidal _ar'krai_ against my species?"

Jacen nodded. "They knew that we had you, Eruk, and Dulaana aboard each of the ships. They wanted us to surrender you to them. We escaped, but we're now heading away from the Unknown Regions and back into the Outer Rim where we can make a stand."

"Wait, how exactly did we escape?" Nom Anor asked. "Not that I know exactly what's going on from here when I'm trapped in this cabin, but wouldn't they have had us in tractor beams the moment we dropped out of hyperspace?"

Jacen grinned. "I did a little Force-trick that shorted out their tractors' functions, allowing us to escape from them."

"So you weren't able to use the same Force-trick to render their weapons systems and other functions useless as well?" Nom Anor asked.

Jacen fell silent. His expression remained stoic even as he mentally kicked himself for not thinking about what Nom Anor just suggested. In the midst of fleeing from the Bothan ships chasing him and the other ships piloted by his aunt and sister, Jacen was too distracted in flying away for his life than in actually applying the _ayna-seff_ to knock out the Assault Cruisers' weapons systems.

Then again... that would be a useful trick to commence when they dropped out of hyperspace...

"Never mind. Are we going back to the Galactic Alliance?" Nom Anor inquired.

Jacen shook his head. "Too dangerous. If these Bothans knew where we were going, then they must have somehow known about it through a GA source, which would just make things complicated if we were to go back to the GA where the Bothans can have a spy or two to report our actions. Hell, they could even have non-Bothan affiliates with them to make things less suspicious; you know, other people who are real pissed about what you and your people did to this galaxy. That's my thinking, anyway."

"Where exactly are we going then?" Nom Anor asked.

"Well, I would say that it's none of your business, but since you're along for the ride, I guess it is," Jacen said. "You ever hear of a planet called Dathomir?"


	22. Chapter 22

It hadn't been half a minute after the _Solo Quest_, the _Jade Shadow_, and Jaina's Skipray Blastboat had dropped out into the Dathomir system before the trio of Bothan Assault Cruisers appeared behind them.

But Jacen had already turned the _Quest_ in the direction of the three Cruisers and reached out through the Force to commence the _ayna-seff_ even as the larger warships began firing on the YT-2400 and the other Yuuzhan Vong-carrying vessels. The one powerful turbolaser strike that hit the _Quest_'s bow was absorbed fairly neatly upon the latter's forward deflector shields, which Jacen had rerouted from the rear and flanks of the _Quest_.

And in a matter of two seconds, before the next giant laser could hit the _Quest_, Jacen had shorted out the Cruisers' turbolasers, rendering them as inoperable as he had their tractor beams. And he managed to break out of his brief Force-immersion just in time to pilot the _Quest_ right beneath the only other laser that his pursuing Cruiser was able to fire upon him.

However, that wasn't the end of it; dropping from the hangar bays of the Assault Cruisers came a motley assortment of Galactic Alliance starfighters that came rocketing for the _Quest_, the _Shadow_, and Jaina's Blastboat.

Once again, Jacen reached out to commence the _ayna-seff_ and was able to disable the weapons systems of at least six X-wings, a couple of Y-wings, and a few other ships. But before he could render anymore of the ships useless weapons-wise, the other starfighters came into range and began firing on the _Quest_ and the two other Jedi ships.

Jacen shifted power from the amped-up forward deflectors so that they were more evenly dispersed across the _Quest_'s exterior before he began throwing his ship into wild maneuvers designed to throw off the aim of the starfighter squadrons headed in his, Mara, and Jaina's direction. He soon activated the _Quest_'s automatic laser turrets from the ship's belly that began to blow enemy ships out of the sky as he continued to avoid getting killed.

Over the course of the next few minutes, however, he soon found that for all the Bothan-piloted starfighters that he, Mara, and Jaina were all killing, each of the three Jedi ships was accumulating damage that placed their deflector shields down to dangerous levels. Eventually, certain shots and strikes from their enemies began to pierce through the waning shields to scorch certain areas of the Jedi ships' hulls.

Gritting his teeth, Jacen activated the comm frequency that linked him to his aunt and sister.

"We have to head to Dathomir!" he told them. "They're our only chance!"

"We'll get them hurt or killed, you moron!" Jaina's voice came over the frequency. "We should head outta the system!"

In spite of his circumstances, Jacen was wounded; he and Jaina shared a special twin bond. The only way she wouldn't know what he was thinking right now was if she were deliberately cutting herself off from him, even in the middle of combat. Was he really dead to her?

"No, Jacen's right, we have to make it for the planet!" Mara interjected.

Jacen afforded himself a brief smile of victory before he threw the _Quest_ around and plotted a wild course toward Dathomir, all the way being harassed by the remaining enemy starfighters on his rear. The automatic belly turrets continued to pick Bothan fighters out of the sky where they could, but for all they were doing, their effectiveness in driving off the Bothans was minuscule.

Soon, the Jedi ships reached Dathomir's atmosphere and began to head right down through the heated friction of the planet's protective shield; eventually, even the Bothan-piloted starfighters still on their tail were forced to either pull back from getting burned up in entry or otherwise plot a straight, stable enough course that still allowed them to fire on their Jedi-piloted quarries.

It wasn't long before Jedi- and Bothan-piloted ships alike finally broke through Dathomir's atmosphere to end up on the planet's current day side, where they each leveled off from their descents to continue their dogfight within the globe's gravitational fold. They continued their battle about thousands of feet above a body of water that Jacen wasn't familiar with.

Those few Bothan fighters who didn't burn up from inaccurate atmosphere entry points in their mad drive to kill a few Yuuzhan Vong found themselves to outnumber their Jedi-Yuuzhan Vong quarries by three-to-one.

With odds like that, and Jacen hated to be cliched, but that meant that the Bothans were the ones to face an unfair fight.

Jacen's next round of turret blasts hit two X-wings, blowing them to flaming debris that began a long tumble down to the water below. The _Shadow_ took out an A-wing while Jaina managed to blow away three Y-wings on a single pass, quickly reducing their number of enemies down to a more mathematically even three.

Unfortunately for Jacen, a B-wing managed to get a laser shot in from the rear, striking the fuel line to begin leaking gas even as he blew apart the B-wing that was in front of him.

Jaina was quick to react by being the one to blow away the B-wing that struck her brother's fuel line, but neither she, Mara, nor Jacen were able to take out the X-wing that completely penetrated the _Quest_'s deflector shields completely to hit the YT's steering control mechanisms.

And with that, the _Quest_ began a spiraling descent for the body of water below, leaking fuel along the way as Jacen vainly tried to regain control of his vessel.

"Jacen, get outta that ship!" Jaina's panicked voice came over the comm. "Take an escape pod! Leave Nom Anor if you have to!"

Jacen ignored his concerned sister and fell back into the sway of the Force, to see if he could regain control of the _Quest_ from that metaphorical angle.

And he soon found it to be easier than expected, as he felt his strength in controlling the ship to increase, but in a way that he didn't think he had the ability to do.

But it didn't take him long before he felt the presences of other Force-sensitives nearby; he opened his eyes and saw through the forward viewport that he was now gracefully and gradually descending to a manageable landing on a patch of cleared ground within a nearby forest.

And standing around the edges of the clearing were a group of minimally-clothed Dathomiri Witches, their eyes closed and their arms outstretched up to the _Quest_'s direction.

Jacen sighed in relief before returning his own efforts to recombine with theirs, and his broken and leaking ship, which continued to leak fuel at an alarming rate, finally settled down in the center of the large clearing. Immediately, the Witches around the ship used the Force to collect the rushing starship fuel into large balls and clusters.

Seconds later, what remained of the Bothan starfighter squadrons penetrated through Dathomir's atmosphere and began firing upon the _Jade Shadow_ and Jaina's Blastboat. But the Force-spheres of starship fuel, which had finally ceased to pour out of the broken _Solo Quest_, were flung up by the Witches who wielded them, and they exploded against the Bothan starfighters, as if each invisible cocoon of fuel had a match suddenly lit up inside.

And from the resultant explosions, from which Mara and Jaina piloted their ships well away, not a single piece of debris was left; the Bothan starfighters had simply been vaporized in the sky from which they flew.

Over the _Quest_'s comm console, Mara's voice came through. "Jacen, Jaina and I see where you landed. Don't move; we'll come for you."

"Don't worry, I don't think I'll be able to-"

The communication was cut off from the other end; even in spite of how well they all worked together, Aunt Mara was still unwilling, like Jaina, to talk to Jacen anymore than was necessary.

And that was what brought Jacen back to the incessant pinging that was signaled from Nom Anor's room. Groaning in irritation, Jacen unstrapped himself from the pilot seat to check up on his nervous captive.


	23. Chapter 23

Captain Joil'ask's sensors officer turned in her seat from her station and informed him, "Sir, we've lost all the remaining fighters in the planet's skies!"

"Very well," Joil'ask said in a morose yet militarily-static tone as he thought of the good men and women whom he and the captains of the other Assault Cruisers had just lost. He turned to the chief weapons officer off to his right. "Commence a bombardment-"

"No, sir, you don't understand. We lost several of them _at the same time_. Even if the YT-2400 weren't downed, they still wouldn't have been able to have taken out the last of our fighters like that!"

Joil'ask looked at the sensors officer in incredulity before looking out through the _Vindicator_'s forward viewport. He then returned his gaze at the sensors officer.

"Which system are we in right now?" he asked. Upon arriving in the system, he didn't take note of where exactly they all were; Joil'ask's only focus was in eliminating those damn Jedi ships that would dare harbor Yuuzhan Vong.

The sensors officer turned back to her station for a moment before reporting, "We're in the Dathomir system, sir."

The Dathomir system. Of course. Those Witches down on the planet's surface must have used whatever magic they had on them; then again, it was probably whatever utilization of the Force that they had.

And the Dathomiri Witches were under the protection of the Jedi Order and, more importantly, the Galactic Alliance since the end of the war. Sure, there were no GA warships to defend the planet in orbit in an immediate crisis, what with the government still trying to reclaim the power that the New Republic lost during the war, but the Dathomirians could still sound a distress beacon, and Joil'ask didn't want to test how long it would take for a GA response fleet to head into the system.

Such a fleet could take hours, or it could take minutes, to arrive in the system, but still, it wasn't something that Joil'ask wanted to risk, especially considering how important it was to keep the movement a secret at this point. Joil'ask figured that the secret of the movement would be one that would be made public soon anyway, but it was best to keep things a secret for as long as possible, as his superiors told him.

So commencing an orbital bombardment just to take out two or three Jedi ships, which may very well cause casualties on the surface, would bring about a full-on investigation that the movement's spies in the government wouldn't be able to stop.

Yes, allowing Skywalker and the Solo twins to live and report back to the GA would still bring about an investigation. But Joil'ask was confident that it was one that could be kept to a minimum if the actions of those spies and saboteurs on Denon did their jobs well.

So Joil'ask activated the encrypted comm frequency to the captains of the other two Assault Cruisers. Once their blue-tinted holographic forms appeared, he addressed them.

"We're to pull back and leave the system immediately," he told them. "We can't risk anymore suspicion than what we've already accumulated. We have no choice but to let those Yuuzhan Vong go... for now."

"Aye, sir," both subordinate captains returned simultaneously. Neither of their stoic tones betrayed anything in the way of disappointment or whatever other negative emotions they must have been feeling for failing to carry out their mission.

"Helm, take us out of the system," Joil'ask ordered.

Less than a minute later, all three Bothan Assault Cruisers jumped into hyperspace.

.

"_Jade Shadow_, you're cleared to land at the following coordinates, so do not deviate from your path," the authoritative feminine voice on the other end of Mara's ship's comm said.

As Mara received the coordinates that the Dathomir Spaceport operator promised her on her navicomp, she heard Jaina receive the same command on their shared communication line. The two of them then headed in the direction of the spaceport.

Not long after promising Jacen that they would pick him, and (reluctantly) Nom Anor, up, both Mara and Jaina received a hail from the spaceport telling them that they weren't to settle down anywhere until they received coordinates on which they were allowed to land.

Jaina had been willing to tell the spaceport operator where to shove her orders, Mara interjected by telling her, "Jaina, you saw what those Witches did to those fighters. It's wise if we don't disobey."

For all that Mara was unwilling to take any bantha dung, she knew that even she had her limits, and that, sometimes, it wasn't the best idea to push them, especially when compliance didn't cost her anything but a little bit of time that she could afford to kill. And considering that the Bothan Assault Cruisers above had disappeared into hyperspace, the situation lost all of its tension, and she and Jaina could pick up Jacen and Nom Anor at their leisure.

And also considering that she wasn't much looking forward to actually picking up Nom Anor for that matter, and she only tolerated Jacen a little more, and Mara was completely willing to take a stroll; especially if it was with Jaina.

After she and Jaina landed in an otherwise vacant spaceport - Dathomir didn't receive a lot of offworld visitors, Mara figured - she commed Jaina, telling her niece that she, Mara, would inform Master Hamner about the Bothan attack. After that, she set about doing just that and told the Jedi Master's blue-tinted form about what had happened. The transmission ended with Hamner promising Mara that she would inform Chief of State Omas about it before telling her, "May the Force be with you," and signing off.

Next, Mara checked up on Kun Eruk, who continued to remain in her cabin thanks to the stuncuffs that kept her to her bed; even though Eruk had willingly surrendered, Mara thought it best if the Yuuzhan Vong was stuncuffed to the bed frame, just as Nom Anor and Peraff Dulaana were on the ships they were being transported aboard. One could never know what any of them had up their sleeves.

"I'll be back by the end of the day, probably" Mara said, unlocking the stuncuffs. "'Til then, you have free roam of the ship; just don't leave it unless you absolutely have to."

"Why the sudden trust?" Eruk asked as she stood up from the bed.

Mara shrugged. "Well, I'd think it'd be a lot more simpler, and a lot more hygienic, than just giving you a day's worth of food and a bucket to go to the 'fresher in."

Eruk nodded in understanding. "So, really, this is more out of necessity than you actually trusting me."

Mara nodded. "Pretty much. Of course, if you do step off this ship, you'll be seen by whoever's out there, and I don't think they'll take too kindly to seeing a Yuuzhan Vong."

"Even if I were as untrustworthy as Nom Anor," Eruk said, "I would stay aboard this ship, out of sight, for my own good anyway."

Mara grimaced at the mention of Nom Anor; she liked to think of him as little as possible, especially since she and Jaina had to go pick him up.

She said no more to her Yuuzhan Vong captive before leaving the ship and locking it back up. Mara then met up with Jaina.

"How's your guest?" Mara asked her niece as they stood in the spacious, and practically empty, spaceport.

"I let him have free roam of the ship, but I made sure he won't be going anywhere," Jaina said. "The promise that if he left the ship, or got spotted by someone looking through one of the viewports or something, made him pretty compliant; unlike most Yuuzhan Vong, he's afraid to die."

Mara shrugged. "Well, that's kinda what happens when you realize that everything you believed in was false."

Jaina smirked. "At least we know the Force is real."

Mara nodded, pushing down the thoughts that came with Jaina's offhand statement; if the Force wasn't real, and it was a matter of faith like the Yuuzhan Vong's gods, would that only make her feel worse about Luke's death?

"Let's go," Mara said.

Minutes into their casual stroll following their departure from the spaceport, from which neither exchanged anymore words with each other, Mara said, "You know, Jaina, it's been a while since we've been together like this, don't you think?"

Jaina nodded. "Yeah, I know," she replied offhandedly.

Mara grinned. "Remember when you were my apprentice? Those were good times, eh?"

"They were," Jaina said, returning the grin. "Back before the war." Her tone became more morose.

Mara's grin disappeared. They'd lost so much once the Yuuzhan Vong came; it was something that Mara always thought about since the war ended. First Chewie, then Anakin, and finally... she couldn't bring herself to think of her lost husband. She couldn't afford to break down again, not in front of Jaina, who must have had it worse more than others. But at times like this, it did weaken Mara's resolve slightly to go on; especially when she considered that she was not only helping to rescue a Yuuzhan Vong, but _Nom Anor_, the very Yuuzhan Vong who had done so much not only to her, but to much of the New Republic and Jedi Order.

Still, Mara knew she had to go on; she had enough grief counseling, she thought. She couldn't simply go on crying about Luke every single day of her life; if she did, she would just lose her mind. No, she had to keep moving on with her life, and that meant continuing her duties as a Jedi, even if it made her feel like they were weighing her down.

"I wish I was still able to train you during then. But, hey," Mara said, placing an arm around her niece's shoulder, trying to regain some of the mirth that was just lost, "you turned out to be a pretty good Jedi Knight after all, huh?"

"I did," Jaina said, attempting to reciprocate her aunt's mood. "But for what little time you and I were able to squeeze in, Aunt Mara, I can safely say that you helped shape me into the Jedi I've become. And for that, I thank you."

Mara didn't think she really deserved Jaina's thanks; because of the war, she and Luke had become more and more concerned about how the Jedi Order could stave off the Yuuzhan Vong onslaught that inevitably came. That, and her sickness - which, she thought angrily, came from blasted Nom Anor - prevented her from doing all that much.

Oh, she fought, sure. She fought as hard as she could; she fought at Helska 4, at Dantooine, at Ithor. But the coomb spore virus that Nom Anor introduced into her system was something that ate away at Mara from the inside, like a cancer, and she had been weakened from that. Because of that damn virus, Mara had never had the time to help Jaina out with her continued practice as a Jedi, and Jaina herself was too busy fighting against the Vong in Rogue Squadron.

And even after Mara recovered and had Ben - who was now being taken care of by Kam and Tionne Solusar back at the Ossus Academy while Mara was away - the war had already taken a great toll on the galaxy, and the Jedi were needed more than ever to help defeat the Vong; so, again, Mara was unable to help Jaina continue to develop and hone her abilities, so Jaina was left to develop and hone them herself.

"Well, you're welcome," Mara ultimately said. She sighed and said, "But I am sorry that you were left out to dry."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "Look, Aunt Mara, it wasn't your fault."

"Well, I feel like it is," Mara asserted more harshly than she intended.

Jaina looked at her aunt with deep concern.

"I never thought I'd be able to have a child because of that coomb spore virus," Mara said. "Quite frankly, Jaina, you were the closest thing I had to a child. So to be separate from you, separated by the war, as we all were at certain points, made me feel like I failed you." Her lips thinned. "At least that's how I feel now. Those spores, they were killing me, Jaina, but the belief that I would leave this existence without a child with your uncle..." She held back her tears at the mention of Luke. "It was something that made me feel like a monster, like I wouldn't be able to die without Palpatine's taint on my soul. As if that virus was a manifestation of his legacy on me; things like that, they would go through my head as I lay dying during all those months. And things like that made me feel more scared than if I were just to die; that I wasn't there for you was a testament about myself as a mother... or at least a mother figure."

Jaina looked like she was about cry, as well. "You're not a failure of a mother, Aunt Mara. You never were. You did the best you could; and your best was what allowed me to become who I am now. And who I am now is a testament to how you succeeded in the short time you were my Jedi Master."

Mara smirked. "Well, it's really more of a testament to how little you actually needed to become who you were; if anything, you should be more proud of yourself, Jaina."

Jaina returned the pained smirk. "I am proud of myself, Aunt Mara. But again, your brief guidance was something that I needed the most. Without it, I wouldn't have been the Jedi I am now."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mara conceded.

They walked on for a longer while in silence before Jaina broke it up when she said, "But, you know... I do wish we'd've spent more time together, Aunt Mara. Sometimes, I regret going down the path I took; sometimes, I wish I'd become more introspective about the Force, like... Anakin or Jacen." Her brothers' names came out in a rush; one was just dead, while the other was dead to her and to the rest of her family, including Aunt Mara.

Mara chuckled slightly. "I'm not what you'd call the introspective type, Jaina; you wouldn't have gone down the same path as your brothers even if you still learned under me."

"Maybe," Jaina replied with a shrug. "But, still... I wonder if I was like them. If I hadn't been so willing to have just fought the Yuuzhan Vong as I did, would I have undergone the same damage I went through?"

Damage. The same kind of damage that Mara went through after Palpatine died, and she was left to fend for herself in a cruel, uncaring galaxy. Only Jaina had been spared of the road that that damage led to with the help of the friends and family who remained from the war.

"Sometimes, I think that," Jaina continued, "if I'd been more accepting of the Force like Jacen was, would I have allowed myself to bury myself in the war like I did? I did that so much, Aunt Mara, even long before Anakin died, and I only did it more after Myrkr, after I thought that Jacen was also dead." She shook her head in contemplation and self-blame. "If anything, I'm more to blame for not continuing to be taught under you, because I'd closed myself off, from all of you; you, Uncle Luke, Mom, Dad, everybody.

"And sometimes, I wake up screaming when I see everyone, everyone I cared about, who was lost in the war."

At that, Mara couldn't help herself; she stopped and wrapped Jaina up into a hug, something that she gladly and silently reciprocated. Neither of them said or did anything as they just stood there; they didn't even cry.


	24. Chapter 24

After Jacen had taken care of the complaining Nom Anor's worries by informing him that they were now safe, the human had the Yuuzhan Vong's cabin locked up before heading to the area where the _Solo Quest_'s boarding ramp was located. There, he had it manually lowered before stepping down to the land below, where he was met by his Dathomiri Witch rescuers.

One of them, a red-skinned woman, as lean and muscular as the rest of her sisters-in-arms, stepped forward to Jacen while the rest stayed back out of respect.

"I am Wenakano Peoult," the Witch introduced herself in a formal tone. "I am the speaker of the group that you see before you. We had come out here once we felt the presences of three Jedi enter our home system, and we are honored to have helped you against the enemy that you have fought, and to have met you, Jacen Solo." She then offered a bow of respect, a bow that her fellow Witches repeated simultaneously.

Jacen returned the bow, the action more fluid and natural than awkwardly-timed and clunky as Jacen's initial encounters with the Baran Do Sages and the Aing-Tii had been. In the back of his head, he couldn't help but feel good about himself, that he was losing that awkwardness.

"I am grateful for your assistance," Jacen said as he exited the bow. "Thank you. But may I ask why you decided to help me, and how you even knew who I was?"

"We have seen holos of you, of your exploits during the Yuuzhan Vong War," Peoult explained. "We were unfamiliar with your presence and unaware that we were aiding you specifically; but now that we know who you are, we welcome you to Dathomir. Now, do you require anymore assistance? Repairs to your ship? New starship fuel?"

"Uh... yes, as a matter of fact, I do," Jacen said, his trademark awkwardness since starting his sojourn returning to him.

Why were these Witches so willing to help him? They had already saved him, and he didn't imagine the Dathomiri Witches being so accommodating, even to get a stranger - a man, no less - off their planet. Was it because they had respect for Jedi?

If so, Jacen certainly wasn't going to tell Peoult or any of these other Witches about the fact that he left the Jedi Order; as bad as he felt by lying through omission, he needed the help. And as principled as he was, he knew there was a time to be principled and a time to receive necessary assistance, especially if it didn't cost his helpers anything too severe. Besides, what could it hurt them?

"Very well," Peoult said. "We will begin immediately." She turned back to one of the Witches. "Yuseif! Run a scan of Jedi Solo's ship to see what the extent of the damage is."

The addressed yellow-skinned Witch took out a small datapad from within a slightly bulging pocket on her belt, activated the device, and looked at the results that followed from the scan.

"How bad is the damage?" Peoult asked Yuseif.

"The repairs shouldn't take anymore than a day at least," Yuseif answered promptly, "once I have the proper instruments, of course."

Peoult nodded. "Then return to the village and retrieve what you need. As well, don't forget to inform Vames and let him know that a tankard of starship fuel necessary to replete a YT-2400 completely will be needed."

Yuseif returned the nod as she deactivated and pocketed the 'pad, then turned and trotted off into the forest.

"Him?" Jacen asked Peoult as the Witch turned back to look at him. "You mean you're working with a man now? I thought Dathomiri Witches didn't have much respect for them."

"We work with several men now," Peoult explained in a tone that betrayed nothing of her own views on the matter. "It's become a necessity since we became a member of the Galactic Alliance. But our subjugation of men on our planet is something that is becoming a passe tradition, so it makes our dealings with men, mainly offworlder men no less, much easier."

"Passe tradition?" Jacen asked. "What changed your minds?"

"What changed many minds among the Witch clans began with the respect that we have gathered for your uncle, Luke Skywalker. We are very sorry to hear that he has passed on to the Force."

Jacen repressed a grimace and only offered a curt nod in response. "Go on," he said unemotionally.

"Since then, it became a growing idea among certain clans and clan leaders that men could be more than simple livestock to be used to sire children. So we came up with an experiment, wherein we started to raise sons as we would our daughters, and we encouraged their growth and independence, whether they had the Force or not. Very few did, but we treated and loved them all the same, as we would our daughters, all of whom would become Witches.

"In time, we saw that for whatever our raised men lacked in the Force, they more than made up for you in certain other areas, such as mathematics, engineering, other sciences, the arts; we exposed them to these forms through the texts and holocrons given to us by the New Republic and Hapes Consortium. As a result, many of our men now roam the galaxy, many of whom thankfully survived the war, to continue their professions."

"I imagine this kind of experiment was highly controversial across the planet," Jacen commented.

Peoult nodded. "Many clans found our new treatment of men to be abhorrent and against the ideas of all of Dathomir. Wars had been launched; but those of us who believed that men could be more than what tradition said they could be were steadfast in our regards, and over time, we prevailed. Many clans who have resented this treatment are now silent or have been outright wiped out."

Jacen's eyes widened in shock at the mention of genocide.

"They were not wholesale slaughter, as you might think," Peoult was quick to say. "They were wars; each side had as fair a fight as they could have under the circumstances. The Force was simply on our side, and we were victorious in the end."

That made Jacen feel only a little bit better; still, he thought back to his own experiences in the Yuuzhan Vong War, and how he had championed that that war be fought not with the intention of eradicating the invaders, but of saving them, even if it meant wiping our large numbers of their people in the process. Sure, not every resistant clan was eradicated, as Peoult said, but it still bothered Jacen that the Dathomiri Witches who sought equality with men - or as close to equality as they could manage - still thought it necessary that battles to the death were absolutely necessary.

"Considering how long it will take to repair and refuel your ship," Peoult continued, either ignoring or otherwise not taking notice of Jacen's mild discomfort at what she just told them about those small wars for men, "we have a village nearby that you may stay in. We have a guest hut ready if you wish to spend the night there."

"Thank you for the offer," Jacen said, "but I'd really rather stay aboard my ship." He couldn't leave Nom Anor alone, especially if there was a chance that Yuseif would discover him in her repairs of the _Solo Quest_.

"Understandable," Peoult said indifferently. "But if you change your mind, I will keep my Force-presence open to you so you can find it easily. That way, you may know where you can go."

"Thank you," Jacen said.

"May the Force be with you, Jacen Solo," Peoult said.

"And with you, too, Wenakano Peoult," Jacen replied.

Silently, Peoult and the other Witches turned and retreated into the forest like wraiths.

Jacen then turned back and headed up the ramp to wait for Yuseif to return.


	25. Chapter 25

It took Mara and Jaina - who decided to move on from their emotional bonding and return to professional detachment for the rest of their hike - a few hours to reach the _Solo Quest_. There, they found the YT-2400 joined by a hovertruck with a large cab that read **STARSHIP FUEL, **and over the _Quest_'s fuel section, Jacen and a yellow-skinned Dathomiri Witch were working on fixing it, each with one tool in one of their hands. When Mara and Jaina arrived, the Witch dropped the tool she had into the wooden chest below before using the Force to call up another tool.

Jacen soon stopped and looked up from what he was doing to find his aunt and sister standing there.

"Hey," he called. "Yuseif and I are just finishing up repairs to the _Solo Quest_. After that, we'll have her filled back up and we can return Nom-" He cut himself off from saying the Yuuzhan Vong's name in front of the Witch. "We can return to our regular duties."

Mara looked at Yuseif the Dathomiri Witch and found nothing in the woman's outward expression or Force-presence to indicate that she suspected anything from Jacen cutting himself off like that. Still, Mara understood how certain Force-users were able to hide their thoughts and feelings well away from other Force-users; Vergere was certainly one of them, as Luke had told Mara.

She refrained from thinking anymore about Luke for the moment; again, she needed to be calm and stable right now. And even with that calmness and stability washing over her now, Mara still wished, or at least half-wished, Jacen to have said Nom Anor's name in front of the Witch. That way, the response would finally do away with that rat bastard...

Then again, it was probably a bad idea to let anyone on this planet know that they were harboring Yuuzhan Vong, otherwise Nom Anor, Kun Eruk, and Peraff Dulaana wouldn't be the Dathomiri Witches' only victims. After the Vong's unsuccessful but nevertheless brutal invasion of Dathomir, Mara imagined that the Witches were just as willing to kill anyone who was a sympathizer of the former invaders, never mind the Vong themselves, so the Witches would probably have no problem of executing Jacen, Mara, and Jaina.

"It's done," Yuseif said after a few more moments.

She then dropped the tool she was wielding back down into the chest below before she, too, leaped off the _Quest_'s hull to land in a crouch on the loamy ground. Yuseif picked up the chest with one hand, as if all that weight wasn't causing her any difficulties, and she used her free hand to use the Force on the starship fuel hovertruck.

From the 'truck, a hose came out and snaked its way through the air to lodge itself into the intake hole that gave the _Quest_ its fuel. A second later, starship fuel began pumping into the YT-2400, and it took only a couple of minutes for the ship to fill up.

"Thank you for all your help," Jacen said to Yuseif as he took out his datapad from his belt. Once he had it activated, he began typing away at it while continuing with, "I'm paying you right now as we speak, as agreed."

"Excellent," Yuseif replied.

After a moment, Jacen said, "And you've been paid, Yuseif. And, again, thank you for your help."

"Are you sure you do not wish to stay, Jedi Solo?" the Witch asked. "As Sister Peoult elaborated, you are welcome."

"_Jedi_ Solo?" Jaina exclaimed, looking to her brother. "What, you didn't tell her?"

Jacen looked at his sister with anxiety even as Yuseif was looking at Jaina with skepticism. The Witch then turned back to Jacen, who was now smiling at her nervously.

"What is she talking about?" the Witch inquired in a raised tone.

Jacen's nervous smile gradually died away under Yuseif's withering glare and he sighed in defeat.

"I had resigned from the Jedi Order," he admitted, "after the war."

Yuseif's expression became one of disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I couldn't save my uncle from dying," Jacen stated. "I was too late. And I wasn't worthy of being a Jedi any longer; so I began a sojourn to discover myself, basically."

"It sounds, then, that you have all the more reason to stay here on Dathomir," Yuseif commented. Whatever she felt about Jacen's resignation, or his prior failure to save Luke Skywalker, was kept from her objective, straightforward tone "We can help you with whatever you need, especially when it comes to spiritual matters."

"Thank you, but... I already have a previous engagement."

"In your sojourn? What is the hurry?" Yuseif asked.

Jacen tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't make him out to be a stammering moron in front of the Witch.

"He is late in his meeting with the Force sect he was about to meet," Mara spoke up. "It was a prearranged matter that was broken up by the attack by those ships that you helped us defeat."

"Oh," Yuseif said after returning her attention from Mara back to Jacen. "Then why did you not simply say so?"

"Because he's an idiot," Jaina said. "My brother's as good with words and decisions as a Hutt participating at a footrace."

Yuseif looked at Jaina in askance. "I can hardly say that about your brother."

"Well, I can," Jaina replied with crossed arms across her chest.

Yuseif's gaze on Jaina deepened with concern and she retained it as she looked back and forth between the twins.

"This does not seem like a healthy relationship that siblings should have," Yuseif observed in the same objective tone that now had a slight twinge of subjective ire in it. "Even some Witches here on Dathomir who still view traditional gender roles as the norm would say that even a sister should be somewhat respectful to her subordinate brother."

Jaina groaned in frustration. "Look, we're already late in delivery, so could we just please-"

"Delivery?" Yuseif asked. "What delivery? Are you not with Jacen Solo? Are you not part of his sojourn? I do not understand how a delivery is a part of a sojourn? And a delivery of what exactly, may I ask?"

Jaina, who had a flicker of regret on her expression for nearly giving away their mission, opened her mouth to retort, only for Mara to hold up a hand to stop her niece from saying anything that would get them in real trouble.

"It is a matter between us," Mara said, "that we prefer not to discuss."

In other words, it was a formal and polite way of what Jaina was about to have said: _None of your business_.

"Very well," Yuseif said, unfazed. She turned back to Jacen. "But, again, if you should ever change your mind, feel free to return anytime."

"I'll consider it," Jacen replied.

Yuseif then turned and headed past Mara and Jaina to disappear back into the woods.

"Looks like you two made the hike for nothing," Jacen told his relatives. "We can get off right now. I can drop you back to wherever you landed your ships." His expression shifted from one of simple askance to that of regret. "Oh, yeah, that's right; Nom Anor's aboard." He grimaced as he looked back at Mara and Jaina. "I take it you don't wanna be anywhere near him, eh?"

"Oh, I for one wanna be near him," Jaina said darkly. "With my lightsaber through his heart."

"I find it hard to disagree," Mara backed up stoically.

"And as if it weren't enough reason to be on the same ship with you," Jaina continued to her brother.

Jacen's earnest expression dropped to one of incredulity. "You mean you weren't worried about me when we were being attacked by the Bothans, Jaina? I felt your distress for my well-being through the Force during the battle; you can try to cut me off all you want, but we still have our twin bond, and nothing's gonna change that, even if one of us dies."

Jacen sighed as he continued. "Look, I know you still resent me for missing Uncle Luke's funeral, but pretending I'm some kind of scumbag lowlife is a lie that you surely can't fool yourself with."

"You don't know what you're talkin' about," Jaina growled.

"Alright, alright, let's break this up," Mara said. "Jacen, if you don't mind, you can wait for us up in orbit while Jaina and I return to the spaceport where we left our ships."

"Fine by me," Jacen replied, taking his scrutinizing gaze away from his sister before turning and heading up the _Solo Quest_'s boarding ramp.

Mara and Jaina simultaneously turned away and began heading back through the forest.

Neither of them spoke for a long while, but like before, when they began their hike to Jacen, it was Mara who broke the silence.

"He's right, you know."

Jaina looked at her aunt in surprise.

"Don't get me wrong, I hate his guts as much as you do," Mara continued. "It seems when it comes to Jacen, everything's about him, even his failures. He even managed to make your uncle's... passing... about himself. Sometimes, it's hard to tell where Jacen's inferiority complex ends and where his ego begins.

"But you and I still care about him, Jaina. We still love him. And sometimes, in between my grief for Luke, I regret agreeing with you and your parents in disowning Jacen like we did; because he's family, and we can't afford to lose anymore family, I'm afraid. We lost Anakin, we lost Luke; hell, we even lost Chewbacca, and for what little time I knew him, I even considered him family like you and your brothers did."

"That still doesn't excuse him for being so selfish and conceited," Jaina argued.

"Perhaps not," Mara said. "But does that excuse us for leaving him in the dust? He's lost just as much in the war as we had, Jaina. Probably more so, I'd argue. At least, in the times when Chewie and Anakin died, we still had each other; you, me, your parents, your uncle. But Jacen didn't have the luxury of being with loved ones after Myrkr; he was surrounded, tortured and brainwashed by Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong, unable to do anything about it. He'd gone through a hell that very few could ever possibly understand... I doubt even I could.

"Does that relieve Jacen of accountability? No, it doesn't. But to treat Jacen like a pariah, especially when he's probably going through harder times now than either of us - what with his own grief for your uncle, not to mention being disowned by us _and_ being forced to quit the Jedi Order... I think we need to come to accept him back into the family, Jaina, if for his own good rather than our own."

There was a long pause before Jaina replied. "You can accept him back, Aunt Mara. You can do what you want; I have no right to stop you. But don't expect me to let him back into the family... at least..."

"At least what? Until he apologizes for being so selfish and conceited, as you say he is?" Mara couldn't help but smirk. "Jaina, in his mind, he thought it would have been selfish and conceited to have attended your uncle's funeral. To him, it'd be like asking to apologize for using the Force when it's as natural to him as it is for the both of us."

"Then I guess _I_ won't be accepting him back as my brother," Jaina concluded staunchly.

Mara didn't know what else to say, so she didn't say anything more as she and Jaina continued back for the spaceport.

By the time they arrived back a few hours later, during which dusk was settling upon this side of the planet, Mara and Jaina stopped in their tracks once they saw Dathomiri Witches leap on down from the spaceport's roof and land in cat-like crouches on the ground before the two Jedi.

Mara and Jaina turned and found more Witches dropping in from the treetops from above. The same occurred on both sides until the Jedi were effectively boxed in.

"If you wish to prolong your lives," the red-skinned Witch standing before the spaceport said, "you will enter the spaceport with us."

"Aunt Mara?" Jaina whispered to her elder.

"I think we should do what she says," Mara announced out loud for all the Witches here. "We can't fight them all at once; we'll be killed easily."

But even as she made that announcement, she sent out a small, subtle Force-nudge to Jaina that she hoped that none of the Witches would be able to perceive in any way.

The nudge basically told Jaina to reach out to Jacen through their twin bond and ask for his help.

Mara wasn't sure if Jaina succeeded in the task as they were led into the spaceport.

And there, they found at least one Witch holding Kun Eruk and Peraff Dulaana on their knees of the spaceport's floor, the Yuuzhan Vong's hands behind their heads. Both aliens had their hands bound behind them; Eruk's expression was one of grim resolve while Dulaana was obviously panicky, sweating, and trying not to break down into hysterics.

The red-skinned Witch who addressed Mara and Jaina outside walked up between the two Yuuzhan Vong and delivered one smack across each of their faces. The Witch then whirled around to face Mara and Jaina and pointed at Dulaana.

"The spaceport manager found this one through one of the Skipray Blastboat's viewports," the Witch explained. "We were called in to apprehend him; we then investigated the other ship and found her." She pointed at Eruk before her own hand. "The only reason we kept either of them alive was so that you could explain to us why they are."

Both Mara and Jaina were silent for a moment; Mara desperately hoped that Jaina was able to let Jacen know that they were in trouble, regardless of the former's resentment to the latter.

"Well?!" the red-skinned Witch intoned.

"The Jedi do not condone genocide," Mara spoke up. "As you may know, the Order assisted the Galactic Alliance into relocating the remnants of the Yuuzhan Vong to the living world of Zonama Sekot, which took them back to the Unknown Regions for their own safety. The female one is a warrior who escaped the relocation; the man was a Shaper who was part of the reconstruction effort on Coruscant who attempted to betray the Galactic Alliance. We were taking them to Zonama Sekot where they can live in peace.

"And since you, the Witches of Dathomir, are valiant allies of the Jedi Order, you will comply with us, release those Yuuzhan Vong back into the custody of my niece and myself and let us go."

The red-skinned Witch was as deathly silent as her sisters-in-arms around her. But after a few moments, she broke the silence to say, "Jedi Master Streen and fellow Witch Kirana Ti, both of whom are loyal Jedi and whom have founded the Praxeum on this world, have condoned the Jedi Order's efforts of relocating the Yuuzhan Vong instead of exterminating them. Not every Witch has been in support of this ideal; I can assure you that not a single Witch in the gathering around you supports it."

"You will be going against a decision that was readily agreed upon between the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order," Mara pointed out. "Should you do that-"

The red-skinned Witch held up a hand to silence Mara.

"We can handle whatever disputes that will proceed from these monsters' deaths," the Witch proclaimed arrogantly.

"You don't get it," Mara said. "If you kill them, then my niece and I will have no choice but to report you to the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order."

The Witch smirked. "We can kill you before you do."

Mara countered with her own smirk. "And you think that will stop any investigation as to what would happen to my niece and myself?"

Jaina nodded. "If you kill either of us, my mother will feel it through the Force from across the galaxy. She will know where we died, she will tell the GA and the Jedi Order what happened, and you'll all be in trouble."

The Witch growled angrily with the rest of her sisters-in-arms. "We cannot allow Yuuzhan Vong to live on our soil."

"Then we're gonna have a problem," Mara said, taking hold of the lightsaber on her belt but made no move to either unhook or activate it.

"So be it," the leading Witch proclaimed.

She then pulled out the wooden staff that was holstered across her back, just as her fellow Witches did, and they all charged in toward the two Jedi, who promptly unhooked and activated their lightsabers.

But before any fight could begin, the leading Witch stopped in her tracks when her own staff - which would have been aided by the Force, like the other staffs, to contend with the lightsaber blades - suddenly disappeared from her own hands.

And one by one, a staff disappeared from the hands of a Witch by an interval of two seconds; eventually, even those who still had their staffs stopped once they saw their sisters-in-arms simply lose their weapons from existence itself, as it seemed.

After the last Witch finally lost her staff, the _Solo Quest_ flew in from the open spaceport bay and landed in between the _Jade Shadow_ and Jaina's Blastboat.

Soon, Jacen stepped down from the boarding ramp with one of the Witch's staffs in hand; he activated his green-bladed lightsaber and sheered the staff in half down the middle. He then dropped the piece he still held in his hand down with its other half before deactivating his own weapon and hooking it back to his belt.

"I'm sure all of you are wondering what happened to your weapons," Jacen said. "I had used a special Force-technique to teleport your staffs away to a location that only I know of. If you, as a whole, do not comply with my demand, all of your weapons will end up like the one there." He pointed to the severed staff at his feet.

The leading red-skinned Witch growled at Jacen. "We still have the Force; we can outnumber you to get what we want."

"To what end, though?" Jacen inquired. "What will surely get you into more trouble with the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order than you can afford, just to kill two Yuuzhan Vong. Quite frankly, it's pretty stupid, Sister Peoult."

The red-skinned Witch's eyes widened in disbelief. "Do not mock us, Jacen Solo. Dathomir has suffered at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong; they must pay for what they did!"

"Revenge is of the dark side, Peoult," Jacen pointed out. "If you kill them, you not only endanger yourself, your clan, and potentially every other clan on Dathomir, if worse gets to worst, you would be embracing that which makes you no better than the Nightsisters."

This caused murmurs and stirrings around the present Witches, but Peoult silenced them all with a Force-enhanced, "Quiet!"

She then continued in a more subdued tone with Jacen. "You have no right speak to us of the dark side, given that you resigned from the Jedi Order feeling unworthy. Why should we listen to a man who does not view himself as being worthy of the Jedi?"

"Because if you don't," Jacen found himself saying in spite himself, "you will embroil your sisters into a war that you cannot possibly win. And if there are any Witches of Dathomir left afterward, they will remember you as being the spark that caused the explosion that started this war, and you will be remembered as someone who embraced the dark side just as the Nightsisters do. Would you want that shame?"

Peoult ground her teeth in anger. "We will not lose."

"Don't be so sure," Jacen replied. "Kill these two Yuuzhan Vong, kill my aunt, my sister, and me, and you will live to rue this day in more ways than one."

Peoult growled again before whirling around to face her fellow Witches. "What say you, sisters-in-arms? Do you want to walk away with your heads down to let these two monsters-" she indicated Eruk and Dulaana "-continue to live? Or do you want to stand up and fight for what's right?!"

But instead of getting any kind of unified, supportive response, the crowd's reaction was varied, with some cheering for war while others jeered Peoult for her stupidity. This, in turn, caused shouts and wild arguments among the gathered Witches of Dathomir.

The resultant arguments soon got so intense that within less than a minute, those who supported Peoult reached out with the Force and lifted some of their disagreeing sisters-in-arms up by their throats, choking off their oxygen.

In response, those against Peoult who weren't being suffocated unleashed a Force blast-wave that sent the treacherous Witches flying back.

And from there, it degenerated into an all-out brawl among the Dathomiri Witches.

Heaving with frustration, Peoult turned away from the chaos and formed a ball of electricity that she sent flying for Jacen. But he'd already dodged it by leaning to his left before reactivating his lightsaber and slashing it diagonally across the Witch's torso, ending her life and dropping her body in an instant.

The Peoult-supporting Witches who saw this tried to go after Jacen, only to be held back by the Witches who disagreed with the red-skinned woman.

In the meantime, Mara and Jaina managed to disentangle themselves from the brawl and they headed through to reach the still-bound Eruk and Dulaana. Both Jedi used the Force send certain Witches, who tried to get to the Vong in the confusion, flying away. Soon, both Jedi arrived at the aliens' sides to rip the ropes away from their wrists, and Mara took Eruk while Jaina took Dulaana before they headed to the _Jade Shadow_ and the Blastboat respectively.

All three ships - the _Quest_, the _Shadow_, and the Blastboat - were gone before the brawl had finally concluded.


	26. Chapter 26

It was only after the _Solo Quest_ launched itself into hyperspace with the _Jade Shadow_ and Jaina's Skipray Blastboat did Jacen slink back against the pilot seat, eyes widened and hyperventilating in panic.

He had just inadvertently caused what may very well end up to be a civil war among a Dathomiri Witch tribe. And once word got out about what this war was about, other Dathomiri Witch tribes would get involved in one way or another, some siding with Jacen, Mara, and Jaina's transportation of the Yuuzhan Vong with them, others against the transportation.

And if that happened, those who were against the Vong would turn against the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order, and so many problems would arise from that...

By all accounts, Jacen thought, the Witch clans of Dathomir who weren't Nightsisters or anything like that shouldn't even have a conflict with the GA or the Jedi; after all, the clans, as a whole, didn't voice any resentment to the Yuuzhan Vong's collective fate when the last of them were transported from throughout their galactic invasion corridor to Zonama Sekot.

Of course, all it took was one Witch like Peoult to complicate matters. Those like her had no doubt been silent about the fate of the Yuuzhan Vong since the end of the war, if only for there to be peace in the aftermath of one of the most brutal conflicts in galactic history. But now that the heat of the Yuuzhan Vong War had all but died out, and the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order were so busy in reconciling the power that the New Republic left behind, the likes of Peoult were willing to inflame the motivation of vengeance among their own peoples against the Vong.

Others like Peoult would inspire movements that gave second thoughts to allowing the Yuuzhan Vong to live, and would thus rebel against what the GA and Jedi Order did for the former invaders. As if the Bothans continuing their _ar'krai_ against the Vong wasn't bad enough.

But Jacen felt as stressed as he was over what just happened on Dathomir because he was reminded of his enigmatic vision on Dorin; the central lights being split up to foment darkness over a multitude of colors.

At first, Jacen had thought that it was an omen of what would happen on the Aing-Tii homeworld, but he saw now that it was representative of what would occur on Dathomir.

This was his fault, he thought. He brought the _Quest_, _Shadow_, and Jaina's Blastboat to Dathomir, when he could have taken the three ships anywhere else in the galaxy to elude their Bothan pursuers. But because of his decision, he had potentially started a civil conflict that could very well take Dathomir by storm.

Jacen felt like going back, to try to confront what he left behind on that planet. He couldn't let it fall into chaos; the Yuuzhan Vong had done more than enough of that during their invasion, so he didn't want the invaders' legacy to sow the seeds of destruction on any other world.

On the one hand, he had a mission to accomplish; a mission that he was serving not as a Jedi, but as an empathetic sentient being, and that was to bring Nom Anor to Zonama Sekot. On the other, if he didn't go back to Dathomir right now to try to salvage the situation as soon as possible, then there may not be any situation to salvage at all.

Sighing in frustration, Jacen knew he had already made the decision when he blasted off the planet with his aunt and sister; by leaving the Witches as they were, he already led them into a potentially devastating conflict. And since he honestly didn't trust either Mara or Jaina to transport Nom Anor to Zonama Sekot themselves, regardless of Mara's restraint in not killing the former Prefect of Yuuzhan'tar, Jacen had no choice but to carry on in seeing Nom Anor off to Zonama Sekot.

.

On the newly-founded capital world of the Galactic Alliance, Denon, GA Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey walked into Chief of State Cal Omas's office. There, he found the latter and Jedi Master Kenth Hamner, seated in one of the office's two guest chairs, waiting for the Bothan expectantly.

"Ah, Commander Kre'fey," Omas greeted him. "Please, have a seat." The human waved to the empty guest chair.

"Thank you, Chief Omas," Kre'fey replied before complying. He then addressed the other guest. "Master Hamner, it is good to see you again."

"Likewise, Commander," Hamner stated politely.

"Commander Kre'fey," Omas started, "I have called you into this meeting to discuss something that may very well be a troubling matter for the Galactic Alliance; and I'm afraid it has something to do with your people. Master Hamner?"

The Jedi Master took out his commlink and played a recorded exchange between himself and Mara Jade Skywalker, in which Skywalker informed Hamner of an attack and subsequent pursuit into the Dathomir system by a trio of Bothan Assault Cruisers, led by one Derapp Joil'ask.

When the recording finished and Hamner replaced the comm back in his pocket, Kre'fey looked at Omas and told the human, "I promise you, Chief, neither myself, nor anyone in my support staff, nor any other Bothan in the GA fleet is in support of whatever Jedi Master Skywalker and her niece and nephew underwent."

"I can believe that you are not in support of whatever Jedi Master Skywalker and the Solo twins had encountered, Commander," Omas replied. "Still, as you may understand, a formal investigation into every Bothan in the GA fleet, including yourself, will have to be taken, as well as anyone else who is suspected of supporting your people's _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong."

"I will do whatever I have to to comply, Chief Omas," Kre'fey replied obediently.

"I know you will," Omas told him assuredly. "So I hope you won't mind being escorted by Master Hamner back to the Jedi Temple for further questioning."

"Of course not," Kre'fey agreed. He looked at the other human and stood up with him. "By your lead, Master Hamner."

Minutes later, Kre'fey was flown by airspeeder with Hamner and two other Jedi Knights from the prefab GA Capital Building to the ongoing construction site of the Jedi Temple. From there, the Supreme Commander was formally escorted further in to the Temple's questioning room by Hamner and the two Knights.

Upon reaching the door, and one of the Knights stopped to open it, Kre'fey looked at the words **QUESTIONING ROOM** above the door. He thought it consistent with Jedi ideology; interrogation was such a nasty, dirty word that would have been more appropriate for the Empire or those Sith that Palpatine was rumored to be a part of. Questioning implied a lack of coercion; and while the Bothan doubted that the Jedi would ever use methods such as torture, he still both admired and disliked how the Jedi liked to whitewash everything for the sake of moral superiority.

Nevertheless, Kre'fey paid it no further mind as he was ushered into the room and took a seat opposite from Hamner.

"Are you at all familiar with Captain Joil'ask and the Bothan Assault Cruiser _Vindicator_, Commander Kre'fey?" was the first thing Hamner asked.

"I knew Captain Joil'ask only by reputation; I never met him personally," Kre'fey replied. "The same with the _Vindicator_."

"What can you tell me about his reputation, Commander?"

"Captain Joil'ask is a consummate Bothan soldier, no different from many other Bothans. I am aware that after the war ended, and I refused to carry on with my people's drive for _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong, Captain Joil'ask and many others like him resigned from the GA military."

"So you know as much as we do, it seems," Hamner said. "Very well. Let's continue on."

The rest of Hamner's questioning of Kre'fey took a little over an hour before the human concluded with, "Thank you for your cooperation, Commander Kre'fey. I am now confident that you are no traitor to the Galactic Alliance."

"You're welcome, Master Hamner."

"So will you help us hunt down those of your people who wish to continue the _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong?"

Kre'fey sighed. "I am afraid that I cannot do that, Master Hamner."

Hamner looked at the Bothan in wordless askance.

"During the war," Kre'fey elaborated, "I agreed to partake in my people's _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong for the death of my cousin, Borsk Fey'lya, because I believed that that was the only way the Yuuzhan Vong could be defeated. Of course, when the solution of Zonama Sekot came to light, I broke from tradition and agreed to help the government and the Jedi to gather up the remnants of the Vong around the galaxy so that Sekot could take them away, as I am loyal to the Galactic Alliance first and my people at a close second.

"However, asking me to go against my own people, even if they are doing something that I do not condone, is asking way too much of me."

"But you just said that your first loyalty is to the Galactic Alliance," Hamner pointed out, his tone and expression conveying the usual Jedi objectivity. "By not participating in stopping those of your people who wish to carry on with the Yuuzhan Vong _ar'krai_, you are demonstrating a higher sense of loyalty to your people than to the Galactic Alliance."

"I may not side with the likes of Captain Joil'ask, but neither will I go against him, Master Hamner," Kre'fey told him firmly.

"You know, as well as I do, Commander Kre'fey," Hamner began, "that by refusing to aid the government under which you serve, you can be charged with treason the same way if you were to outright turn against the Galactic Alliance."

"And if I decide to resign from the military, Master Hamner?"

The Jedi Master shook his head. "I'm afraid that you cannot do that, Commander Kre'fey. As you also know as well as I do, the Galactic Alliance must do what it can to rebuild the power that the New Republic lost during the war, and it needs all of the good men and women who can help rebuild."

"I do believe that I can resign anytime I wish, Master Hamner. It sounds like you are simply trying to appeal to my sense of duty than actually pointing to any laws that says what I can or cannot legally do."

Hamner sighed. "I lost Jacen Solo, Commander Kre'fey. For all that he was hesitant and self-questioning in his actions and abilities, he was still a capable Jedi. If you do this, if you do this to _me_, then you will-"

"Stop," Kre'fey interrupted. "Quite frankly, Master Hamner, I don't care what this may do for your reputation. And don't tell me that the Galactic Alliance can't continue on without me, either; all good governments must successfully carry on, regardless of who is in charge. Hence, by asking me to turn on my own people, you leave me no choice but to begin writing my letter of resignation, to which I will send to Chief of State Omas."

Hamner grimaced momentarily, but his expression soon settled back into its more formal tone. "Very well. You are free to go... Mister Kre'fey."

Kre'fey stood up and headed for the door.

"Kre'fey," Hamner called.

The Bothan stopped and turned to face the Jedi Master, who also stood up from his seat.

"By resigning from the Galactic Alliance, that leaves you with an undivided loyalty to your own people," Hamner reasoned. "So once you leave, you may be liable to support the Bothans' continued drive for _ar'krai_."

Kre'fey was silent for a moment before he spoke. "I presume, then, the GA and the Jedi Order will keep tabs on me to make sure I don't offer such support, Master Hamner?"

"You're an influential leader," Hamner continued, not really answering the Bothan's question. "You could gain so many followers if you support the Yuuzhan Vong _ar'krai_."

"So I could," Kre'fey said before turning back.

He knocked on the door, and it was opened by one of the Jedi standing outside. The Bothan stepped out, leaving Hamner alone.


	27. Chapter 27

A thunderous rainstorm had just passed, and a large mob of Dathomiri Witches had gathered outside the Jedi praxeum of their homeworld, making shouts and jeers from which they voiced their complaints about the recent conflict that brewed within the late Wenakano Peoult's clan, the Misty Falls, over the discovery of those three Yuuzhan Vong in the Jedi Order's custody.

From the topmost level of the praxeum, Kirana Ti, a woman of dual citizenship among both the Dathomiri Witches and the Jedi Order, looked out among her native brethren in a mix of pity and shame.

"I know what you're thinking," the elderly male voice from behind her said. "I don't even need my Force-senses to determine it. How can they be having this sort of dispute when it was a matter that the Galactic Alliance and the Order had already resolved?"

Kirana turned back to Streen, her friend from since they had attended Luke Skywalker's Yavin 4 praxeum, and nodded. "I knew that there were still malcontents who were not satisfied with the solution regarding the Yuuzhan Vong. But to think that this kind of response could be gained from this discovery is unthinkable, especially after the Dathomiri Witches, by and large, have agreed with the government and Jedi's decision regarding the Vong." She shook her head. "No, I do not believe that this is simply lingering hatred for the invaders."

"Why not?" Streen asked. "It seems like enough of a motivation."

"On the surface, it would," Kirana replied. She then sighed. "But I believe that there is something deeper than the Vong. I believe that those like Peoult are using this as more of an excuse."

"An excuse?" Streen asked. "For what?"

"To get the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Order to leave them alone," Kirana posited. "So that the Witches of Dathomir can return to their old traditional ways of thinking, where men are nothing more than livestock and slaves and there is no interference on the part of whatever galactic government is leading right now."

Streen joined her at the window to look out among the still-jeering crowd. "They can't be this foolish, Kirana," he said. "They know they can't afford to take on the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order."

"Never underestimate the arrogance of a proud people, Streen old friend," Kirana countered.

Streen grimaced. "Look, why would they go through this if it meant losing the protection of the government."

"Maybe they don't want the government," Kirana suggested. "Perhaps they wish to be independent. And maybe it's what they want after all; the New Republic wasn't able to help the clans of Dathomir when the Yuuzhan Vong invaded, so why continue to be under the hands of a government that can't help them if worse comes to worst?"

Streen still looked skeptical. "If that were the case, then why wouldn't they simply say so to begin with? Why use the discovery of those three Yuuzhan Vong as a pretense?"

"Possibly too much resistance," Kirana hypothesized. "Particularly from the leaders of the other clans. Especially considering that the war was still going on and that fragmentation and disagreement between clans couldn't be afforded; then, there was a united goal that developed to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. Now that peace has once again fallen over the galaxy, fragmentation and disagreement can be afforded; those like Wenakano Peoult were just looking for even the tiniest excuse to fan the flames of rebellion over changes that have been made, such as equal treatment of men and dealings with offworlders."

"Well, then, wouldn't the leaders put their feet down on the matter and restore order?" Streen inquired.

"They can try, but this incident has stirred a fire that logic and organization can't hope to quell," Kirana figured. "I can tell you, Streen, an overwhelming desire to return to the old ways here on Dathomir is strong. So instead of my fire metaphor, think of the sentiment among the Dathomiri Witches as a flow of water, with the peace that ensued from the war acting as a dam. A sliver of that dam has been broken off, and now a tiny stream is pouring through it. And in time, the dam will crumble further and further until the water surges forth completely, overcoming the dam to become a violent force of nature."

Streen grimaced. "This is starting to sound like the Caamas Document Crisis all over again."

Kirana nodded before looking back out through the window. "Although, this time, I don't think a simple list of names is going to stop everyone here from going to war."

Streen then looked back out through the window himself, wondering what more it would take for that dam to break down. At times like this, though, he was glad that he'd been fully able to master his powers so that the presences of so many people - particularly Force-users such as the Witches of Dathomir - weren't overwhelming him as they had during his years on Bespin. That, however, was a small, insignificant comfort to the potential danger caused by all those women out there.

His troubled thoughts were momentarily brought away from the crowd to the rainbow that he saw as an aftereffect of the rainfall; but as soon as he saw it, it somehow disappeared, as if by a dark force.

.

Following his resignation from the Galactic Alliance military, former Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey was afforded a military shuttle to pilot back to his homeworld of Bothawui. He understood that an envoy from the GA would come along to take it back eventually, but as it was, Kre'fey accepted it as a parting gift from Chief Omas, if only a temporary one.

All in all, Kre'fey considered his departure from the Galactic Alliance military a decent farewell to the military that he served under. His only regret was that he wasn't able to take charge of the GA military as Supreme Commander under an implacable enemy; and while he was in higher standing among the military than his predecessor, Sien Sovv, was during the latter stages of the Yuuzhan Vong War, that still didn't make Kre'fey the Supreme Commander during that conflict; he was simply a very well-respected admiral with a lot of authority and respect.

But upon returning to the Both system, Kre'fey wished that he was back in charge as either Supreme Commander or even admiral; not for any sentimental reasons, but it was so he would be able to remove the GA flotilla that had gathered around his homeworld.

Before he could hail any of the GA ships orbiting Bothawui, the hologram console of Kre'fey's shuttle was already pinging with a hail. The former Supreme Commander answered it, and the miniature blue-tinted form of another Bothan who wore the Supreme Commander regalia that Kre'fey wore for an all-too-brief time.

"Former Commander Kre'fey," the holographic Bothan said in a genial tone, "welcome home."

"Admiral Nek Bwua'tu," Kre'fey addressed. "Or should I call you Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu?"

Bwua'tu grinned and gave a respectful nod to his predecessor. "You may. And should, I might add."

"Do you mind telling me why in all nine Corellian hells there is a Galactic Alliance war fleet above our homeplanet?" Kre'fey asked, dispensing with any further pleasantries.

Bwua'tu's respectful expression dropped. "It is part of the investigation that Chief Omas and Jedi Master Hamner have launched. Considering how an overwhelming number of our people still wish that the Yuuzhan Vong should be completely wiped out, I agreed with the Chief and Jedi, upon my appointment as Supreme Commander of the fleet, that this action must be taken."

Kre'fey leveled a betrayed and furious gaze upon the current Supreme Commander. "You are going against your own people, Bwua'tu."

"As I told you, it is Supreme Commander Bwua'tu, Mister Kre'fey," the other Bothan replied in a strict, military tone. "And I do not pay any special loyalty to my own species as you have. I swore a vow of _kre'vi_ to the New Republic, a vow that has carried on to the Galactic Alliance, and I will thus do anything for the fulfillment of the current government."

Kre'fey growled. "You are a disgrace to the Bothan people! You would reduce Bothawui to rubble with the turbolasers of the fleet's Star Destroyers if you were asked!"

"Come now, Kre'fey, I am not being asked to do that," Bwua'tu replied. "All this is is a simple investigation, no one has to get hurt or worse from this. All we require is compliance."

"That sounds like something that someone serving under Palpatine's Empire would say!"

"Watch yourself," Bwua'tu replied curtly. "This is nothing that anyone under Palpatine's regime would have done. We don't seek to subjugate or oppress; we only seek to find and detain the malcontents-"

"Again, sounds a little too familiar," Kre'fey cut him off snidely.

"-who would do wrong to a people who no longer hold any threat to the rest of the galaxy," Bwua'tu concluded patiently. "Now, Mister Kre'fey, you will be allowed to pass through this blockade, as you are not officially under suspicion for siding with the Bothans who still strive for the _ar'krai_, and you may continue on with your life in retirement."

"Not _officially _under suspicion, huh?" Kre'fey pressed on. "That means I'll still be watched, right?"

"People can still change their minds," Bwua'tu stated. "Have a good day." He then signed off from the other end.

"You''re starting to make me want to change my mind," Kre'fey said aloud to empty air. _And I hope you change yours_, he merely thought.

Regardless, he piloted the shuttle past the blockade and to Bothawui.


	28. Chapter 28

Jacen was barely able to get any sleep on the hyperspace trip between Dathomir and the Unknown Regions. And it wasn't just because of the troublesome notion that the _Solo Quest_, _Jade Shadow_, and Jaina's Blastboat can come under attack by another group of Bothan Assault Cruisers, if not the same trio led by Captain Joil'ask, or pirates or anything like that.

No. As he sat in the pilot seat of the _Quest_, blankly staring out through the forward viewport at the hyperspace tunnel before him, Jacen's mind kept flashing back to the scene that he, Mara, and Jaina left in the Dathomir spaceport: all those Witches fighting over the Yuuzhan Vong prisoners. And intertwining with that memory, like a faded scene, was that same multicolored vision of the lights casting all those other colors into darkness.

That intertwined scene only became more vivid in the few times that Jacen nodded off from exhaustion; and always, always, in the distant background whenever Jacen had these brief naps, was the same tableau of Uncle Luke lying dead while the rest of Jacen's family lay weeping over him.

In all honesty, he was sort of glad to serve food and water to Nom Anor, escort him to the refresher, and endure whatever insults or cutting remarks that the cowardly Yuuzhan Vong had to offer; they were among the only times that Jacen was able to have social interaction with anybody during the trip.

Of course, there were also the times in which the _Quest_ had to drop out of hyperspace into one of the uncharted systems of the Unknown Regions with the _Shadow_ and Jaina's Blastboat. There, he communicated with Aunt Mara and Jaina about what new course they should take every now and then, and they made sure that they were following in the massive Force-wake that Zonama Sekot left in its path from the Coruscant system back to the Unknown Regions. Jacen was surprised that the Force-wake still emanated through his, Mara, and Jaina's senses even after all this time.

Jaina was as clipped in her exchanges with Jacen as could be expected. But Aunt Mara had a more gentle tone for whenever she said, "I can still sense Sekot's presence, Jacen, and I have my navicomp locked in for our next course. Same with you?" or "May the Force be with you, Jacen. Over and out," or anything along those lines.

Jacen wondered if Mara would be the first in his family to accept him back into their fold.

Finally, after several days of not encountering anymore Bothan Assault Cruisers or pirates or the like, they finally ended up back in the Klasse Ephemora system, where Zonama Sekot had first been discovered during the Yuuzhan Vong War. And there, once again orbiting the gas giant Mobus, acting as a moon, was the scarred yet lush, green living world - both literally and figuratively - of Zonama Sekot.

_Jacen. Mara. Jaina. Come_.

The voice of Magister Jabitha Hal rang in the three Force-users' minds, yet they all knew who it was really from: the consciousness of Sekot herself.

Wordlessly, the _Quest_, _Shadow_, and Blastboat headed toward the moon-disguised living planet and, within minutes, had returned to the surface of the planet. There, they, along with their Yuuzhan Vong charges, were met not by Magister Hal, but by Tahiri Veila and Tekli, former Jedi like Jacen.

Tahiri and Tekli were surprised to see whom Mara and the Solo twins brought with them, and they leveled especially angry glances up at Nom Anor.

"Where's Danni?" Jacen asked his fellow former Jedi. He couldn't even sense Danni through the Force, as if she wasn't even on the planet. Why was that?

"She's busy studying the geological composition of the planet," Tekli elaborated. "Something I'm a part of. Now, if you don't mind, Jacen, Tahiri and I would both like to get this over with so I can continue with my work with Danni."

Jacen looked away, slightly embarrassed at peeving Tekli. He wouldn't bother to ask why he couldn't sense Danni.

"This one slipped by," Mara said, indicating Kun Eruk to Tahiri and Tekli with a wave of her hand. "This one-" she indicated Peraff Dulaana "-was part of the reconstruction effort on Coruscant." She then indicated Nom Anor. "And this one, well... I guess you should deliver him safely to wherever he has to go, if nothing else." Her tone was completely reluctant when it came to the being who nearly ruined her life.

"We'll try not to kill him," Tahiri replied snidely.

Each Jedi then lightly shoved their Yuuzhan Vong charge slightly forward to Tahiri and Tekli. The former then rounded behind the three tall aliens while Tekli took lead, and at the latter's lead, the five of them headed forward to the Yuuzhan Vong village a few blocks ahead.

Jacen turned with his aunt and sister to return to his own ship, as they would do to theirs, only for him to stop and turn. Jaina didn't take notice as she continued to the Skipray Blastboat, but Mara did, even as Jacen's sight and mind were away from his aunt.

He had returned here, he realized. Now was his chance to at least talk to Danni again, even if he couldn't sense her. If, for no other reason, he would like to know why he wasn't sensing her.

Jacen had fulfilled his mission, after all. And since he could do whatever he wanted in his sojourn, he might as well stick a little while longer. If there was one good thing about not being part of the Jedi Order, it was that neither his aunt or sister would hassle him for leaving to return to the Galactic Alliance.

So he turned back to at least say goodbye to his aunt and sister, only for the former to be standing there. She placed a hand on Jacen's shoulder before he could say anything.

"Jaina may still not be able to forgive you for not attending your uncle's funeral," Mara said, "but I do. You can see or talk to me anytime you'd like, Jacen."

Jacen grinned, feeling a great surge of relief within him. "Thank you, Aunt Mara," he nearly choked.

Mara nodded. "May the Force be with you."

Jacen returned the nod. "And with you."

Mara turned away and finally boarded her ship.

Jacen only turned back to the _Solo Quest_ to close and lock up its boarding ramp. Then he turned again and began following the retreating forms of Tahiri, Nom Anor, Kun Eruk, Peraff Dulaana, and Tekli.

.

Alone in the woods, Tadar'Ro looked up into the night sky of his homeworld, still regretful that Jacen Solo had been unable to stay any longer than he had.

The human had learned remarkably fast, even with his openness to the Force and his willingness to accept other ideas. And it was because of that that Tadar'Ro wished that Solo had stayed; he wondered if he could learn from him, as well. Tadar'Ro wondered if the Aing-Tii could learn new and different ideas themselves.

As Tadar'Ro had told Jacen during the latter's time here, a willingness to accept other ideas is rare among the Aing-Tii. And even though Tadar'Ro was isolated from the rest of the galaxy, he was pretty sure that other sentient beings were like that, too, if his initial time with Jorj Car'das was any indicator.

Car'das had been a lost, impatient man when he had come here, so it was very difficult for Tadar'Ro to teach him, even after the human had created a vocal translator to bridge the linguistic gap between them. It had taken much time and patience after that, namely on Tadar'Ro's part, to make Car'das the able teleporter and Force-user that he came to be; and it required much time and patience in molding Car'das's outlook on life.

The Jedi were probably an organization that also refused to look to other views to bolster their own, Tadar'Ro thought. Perhaps not to the same extent as someone as Car'das once had, but on some level, they believed themselves to have all the knowledge and power in the Force that they could possibly need.

Either way, it was of no real concern to an Aing-Tii such as Tadar'Ro, who was isolated from practically the rest of the galaxy. They were unperturbed by what happened in governments such as the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, and were thus content living here.

That contentment, however, was soon broken when Tadar'Ro felt a sudden rippling through the Force that reverberated across his homeworld, a rippling that made him feel an intense spike of pain throughout his whole being.

When the ripple passed, Tadar'Ro's eyes widened in horror from what he felt just happen: the death of the Aing-Tii's prophet.

But that horror only gave way to confusion. Why did the death of his people's prophet elicit such a visceral, terrified reaction from him?

Tadar'Ro had lived through the deaths of two prophets before, and while he felt a rippling sensation before, he had always felt a sense of dejected mourning. So why did the death of this prophet make him so horrified?

And then he realized it: it wasn't just the prophet's death. It was what the prophet _felt_ before he died, and it was horror not from his own demise, but from what he saw before he fully joined the Force.

Tadar'Ro turned and trotted out through the woods to eventually return to his own village, where the prophet had passed on.

There, in the gathering in the village, there was a mixture of the expected mourning and of the same horror that Tadar'Ro had experienced when the prophet's mortal departure occurred.

Tadar'Ro trotted up to one of his fellows. "Grenna'Tuy, why is everyone scared?" he asked.

"Because, before he died," Grenna'Tuy explained, "the prophet foretold that a great, destructive division will occur through the galaxy... and it will reach here."

"Division?" Tadar'Ro inquired. "What kind of division?"

"A division of ideals," Grenna'Tuy answered grimly. "A division of clashing desires, of views, that will lead to chaos."


	29. Chapter 29

"Nom Anor," Harrar said with ambivalence, "I find it surprising to find that you are still alive."

Nom Anor shared Harrar's ambivalent expression as the two of them, Kun Eruk, Peraff Dulaana, Tahiri Veila, and Tekli all stood in the midst of La'okio, one of the few Yuuzhan Vong villages across Zonama Sekot. The one-eyed Yuuzhan Vong said nothing to the former priest, who had two former Shamed Ones - who were now part of the Extolled Yuuzhan Vong of Zonama - ready to act as bodyguards should anything untoward happen.

Harrar then looked behind Nom Anor and the other two Yuuzhan Vong to address the two former female Jedi. "Thank you for bringing them under my charge, Tahiri, Tekli. I will see to it that all three of them are placed in proper quarters."

"Thank you, Harrar," Tekli said before she and Tahiri turned away to head elsewhere. Not long after, the two Extolled Yuuzhan Vong rounded the trio of new arrivals, standing behind them, and that allowed Harrar to turn and wordlessly lead Nom Anor, Eruk, and Dulaana elsewhere in the village.

Jacen lingered further back from the small gathering before he headed after Tekli, who had just split up from Tahiri's own path.

"I take it you're here to see Danni again, Jacen," Tekli said as soon as he caught up behind the Chadra-Fan. She didn't even look back to address him.

"Would that be a problem?" Jacen asked, joining his fellow former Jedi's side.

"It might serve as a distraction to the research that Danni and I are doing," Tekli stated. "But it's not as if we're on a schedule anyway. So I suppose Danni could take her time with you."

"Can you tell me why I can't sense Danni through the Force?" Jacen inquired.

Tekli looked at him in curiosity. "Why can't you?"

Jacen shrugged. "I just can't."

"Hmm. That's interesting."

"Can you sense her, Tekli?"

The Chadra-Fan paused, and Jacen knew that she was looking for Danni through the Force.

"I certainly can," Tekli said. "I guess we could go ask her why she can't be sensed by you."

Jacen felt disconcerted; was Danni _deliberately_ hiding herself through the Force from Jacen? If so, why?

Was it the same reason that Jaina and the others had disowned him? Did Danni feel abandoned by Jacen and was thus unwilling to speak or commune with him through the Force?

Well, one way or another, he would confront her about it.

"You okay?" Tekli asked.

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, by the way, for taking me to Danni."

"You're welcome," Tekli replied in a distant tone.

In spite of his gratefulness to Tekli for taking him to Danni, Jacen couldn't help but notice that his friend didn't seem particularly happy.

"You seem a little... upset, Tekli," Jacen pointed out warily. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not necessarily," Tekli replied. "But I do feel resentment towards Master Hamner for expelling Tahiri and me from the Jedi Order."

Jacen frowned. "I understand. I quit the Order myself, as he wouldn't allow me any time for my sojourn if I still wanted to be a Jedi."

Tekli was silent for a while. "It's frustrating, isn't it? To no longer be a part of the guardians of peace and justice for over a thousand generations."

Jacen cocked his head in half-agreement. "But it is freeing. To know that you're not part of a dogmatic organization anymore; where you can become your own person. I take it you and Tahiri are doing the same for yourselves?"

"To an extent, we are," Tekli responded. "Tahiri has been helping Yuuzhan Vong try to reclaim the Force lately. She's managed to get at least two accepting Extolled to become Force-users. It's quite amazing, really."

Jacen smiled. "Good for her."

"I agree. And it's nice that she's moved on from Anakin; she still misses him, of course, but ever since she made peace with her Yuuzhan Vong side, with Riina Kwaad, she has learned to let Anakin go."

"Do you think she'll find anyone else?" Jacen asked, the memory of his younger brother still eliciting a dull ache in his being.

"If she wants to, I think she can," Tekli replied. "What about you, Jacen? How has your sojourn been?"

Jacen shrugged. "Been a little too short so far. I visited only two worlds; Dorin and the homeworld of the Aing-Tii. But since Nom Anor returned from the dead, as it were, my sojourn got cut off, because I wasn't willing to let either Aunt Mara or Jaina transport him, especially not with those other two Yuuzhan Vong who Nom Anor has problems with."

"Ah. Understandable."

"Of course, a couple of things have become rather worrisome. During our trip here, we encountered a trio of Bothan Assault Cruisers who knew we were transporting those Yuuzhan Vong and they tried to kill us for it."

"The Bothans still want their _ar'krai_," Tekli observed grimly.

"And what's worse was that when Aunt Mara and Jaina and I all went to Dathomir to elude the Bothans, that one, Peraff Dulaana, got discovered with Kun Eruk and a war erupted between a Dathomiri clan over it. Mara, Jaina, and I all escaped with that on our hands."

"That is worrying, too; and curious. Why would any Dathomiri clan erupt in war over this?" Before Jacen could posit his theory about the Witches having more grievances bubbling beneath the surface, Tekli also asked, "And if there are Bothans still hunting down Yuuzhan Vong... would that mean they're tracking Zonama Sekot?"

Jacen fell into horrified contemplation over Tekli's last question, even as he continued walking with her. If the likes of Captain Joil'ask still want to exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong, then Zonama Sekot was very well in danger of being discovered and attacked.

Even out here, in the vastness of the Unknown Regions, known only to the Chiss Ascendancy, the Bothans could still find and attack Zonama if they were determined enough. And if that were to happen...

Jacen looked back at his friend. "Tekli, do you know where Magister Hal is?"

She nodded, already understanding what he was thinking. "I can take you to her at once."

Tekli then turned to her left and began trotting away, with Jacen following suit. They soon caught an organic transport - Zonama Sekot's version of a hovertaxi - that took them out of La'okio and to the village in which the living world's Magister, Jabitha Hal, resided.

There, Jacen and Tekli left the organic transport and were confronted by two muscular male Ferroans who stood guard outside the entrance to the Magister's hut.

"We wish to see Magister Hal," Tekli told the guards.

"Why?" the guard on the right asked sternly.

"Because what we have to say to her concerns the fate of Zonama Sekot," Jacen provided hastily.

As if on cue, the door opened, and both guards turned to find Jabitha Hal standing on the threshold.

"At ease," she told them before turning her attention to Jacen and Tekli. Jabitha then waved them in. "Come."

Moments later, they were inside, the door closed behind them, and they were seated on a guest sofa across from the Magister.

Jacen told Jabitha about the Bothan attack on the _Solo Quest_, _Jade Shadow_, and Jaina's Skipray Blastboat while they were transporting their Yuuzhan Vong charges. When he was done telling her the story, he then voiced the fear of a Bothan attack on Zonama, as Tekli thought.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Jabitha said. "However, your warning is unneeded; Sekot is always prepared for danger. When that Yuuzhan Vong convoy found us before your party entered the Klasse Ephemera system during the war, Sekot was able to repel the danger posed by whom we only knew as the Far Outsiders. We can certainly repel the danger posed by the far-less dangerous forces of the Bothans... as we will now."

And just as Jabitha said that, Jacen felt thousands of new presences enter the Klasse Ephemera system. When he reached out to them, he felt them immediately: Bothans.

Two seconds later, a loud, blaring noise sounded across the planet that sounded less like a siren and more like the prolonged screech of some behemoth of a creature; and considering that this was Zonama Sekot, the living world that harbored living creatures to be used as devices, Jacen wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Jabitha stood up from her organic sofa as the door to her hut opened to admit the two guards from outside.

"If you would like," the Magister said to Jacen and Tekli, "you may join my guards and me in the bomb shelter beneath my home."

Jacen shook his head as he and Tekli also stood up. "I should help," he told Jabitha.

"Is it not a long way back to your ship?" Jabitha inquired.

Jacen firmed his lips in determination. "Not for me, it isn't."

He then closed his eyes and concentrated, recalling how he managed to master the Aing-Tii's teleportation technique. Yes, he had managed to transport small, simple things from very short distances, like rocks about a few meters from their original positions, but he was hoping that, when the situation called for it, he would be able to do something a little bit more complex.

And that more complex task was in transporting the _Quest_ in the woods outside of this village.

Jacen took a hold of the ship in his mind and saw whether or not he could possibly teleport it as ably as he had those rocks back on the Aing-Tii homeworld. Now more than ever, he wished that he had spent more time with Tadar'Ro so that he could learn the ability.

Because of this, he was staggered by how large and enormous the _Solo Quest_ was; it would be impossible to move the entirety of its bulk from where it had landed, he thought. There was no way in all nine Corellian hells that he could ever teleport something of the _Quest_'s magnitude; he just didn't have the ability.

He panicked; he tried to get the _Quest_ over to where he wanted it to go in time; in time for him to board it and launch into space to fight the invading Bothan force. But such was the massiveness of the YT-2400 that it was beyond Jacen's abilities to get it to where he wanted without having it simply piloted. He just couldn't do it at all.

And then Jacen remembered a vital lesson that his Uncle Luke had taught him: something that the older man had learned from Master Yoda on Dagobah when Luke was only a few years older than Jacen was now. Uncle Luke had been unable to use the Force to lift his crashed X-wing from sinking into one of Dagobah's swamps, complaining to Yoda that it was too big, before Yoda himself was able to lift the entirety of the ship from its demise beneath the planet.

"I don't believe it," Luke had said to Yoda.

"_That_ is why you failed," Yoda had replied.

And that was what was interfering in Jacen's ability to transport the ship; it was his _belief_ that he couldn't do it.

If someone like Jorj Car'das, who otherwise lacked Force-sensitivity, was able to master the Aing-Tii teleportation technique if nothing else, then Jacen, a fully capable Force-user, was able to transport something as grand as the _Solo Quest_ to the woods just outside the village where Jabitha lived.

So he brought the physical massiveness of the _Quest_, and the much more considerable distance that it had to cover, out of his mind and viewed it as nothing more than a rock to be moved by a few meters.

And in the span of five seconds, he felt the YT-2400 disappear from its original landing site to end up in the much shorter distance of the jungle outside Jabitha's village.

He opened his eyes to see that Tekli, Jabitha, and the guards were already gone, having taken themselves to the bomb shelter that the Magister mentioned.

Paying the four of them no further mind, Jacen raced out of the hut and began racing across the distance of the village before crossing the boras treeline that led into unused jungle.

Two minutes later, he found the _Quest_ resting on its struts. He had the landing ramp opened before rushing the rest of the way inside to the cockpit, where he cold-started the ship up, closed and sealed the ramp back up, and blasted it away from the jungle below.

By the time that the _Quest_ was in the space of the Klasse Ephemera system, the squadrons of Sekotan fighter craft were in the midst of a wild dogfight against the mixed starfighter squadrons provided by the six Bothan Assault Cruisers in the system.

The Assault Cruisers themselves were firing their turbolasers toward the incoming enemy squads that had either disentangled themselves from the battle against the smaller Bothan-piloted ships or had already destroyed their own enemies.

Jacen was about to fly into the fur-ball ahead when he stopped, realizing that there was a better way to end this fight as quickly and as efficiently as possible; and it was one that made him sick to his stomach. It was as disgusting as it was for him every time he had to kill during the war, and he regretted ever thinking about the idea. But now that he had come up with it, he had to see it through, or else the Bothans had a chance of breaking through to Zonama Sekot to wipe out the last of the Yuuzhan Vong down on the surface, if not also kill everyone else, including the planet itself, for harboring the former invaders.

Thus, Jacen felt more of an empathetic than moral obligation to at least let the Bothans know what they were going to get themselves into.

So Jacen opened up a hailing frequency directed at all six of the Bothan Assault Cruisers; he also spread it out to every other ship in the fleet so that they could listen into it.

"Attention, Bothan Assault Cruiser commanders," he said. "This is Jacen Solo. If you do not cease your attack on Zonama Sekot, I will teleport a concussion missile into the power cores of each of your ships and kill everyone aboard. You have ten seconds to respond."

Five seconds later, a gruff Bothan male voice came over the frequency. "This is Commander Reh'mwa of the _Avengeance_. Do you honestly believe that this lie will dissuade us from attaining true victory over the Vong, Solo?" The Bothan snarled. "How dare you take us for fools?! The Jedi are powerful, but we know that even they have their limits with the Force!"

"I'm not lying," Jacen replied morosely. "Please, don't make me do this. I am actually begging you not to make me do this, Commander Reh'mwa. Enough bloodshed has been wrought across the galaxy because of the war."

"A war caused by the very people we are attacking!" Reh'mwa cried. "So stop wasting our time!" The frequency was then cut off from the other end.

Jacen sighed. Reh'mwa and his fellow Assault Cruiser commanders had been warned, regardless if they believed him.

Jacen then armed a total of six concussion missiles from the _Solo Quest_'s complement and, as he did before in Jabitha's hut, closed his eyes and pictured those missiles through the Force in his mind's eye. He removed the factor of their mass and distances from the Assault Cruisers - more importantly, the Cruisers' power cores - and willed that those missiles appear in the rooms powering the Bothan capital ships' cores.

When he sensed that the missiles were inside each of the ships that he had sent aboard, each Assault Cruiser erupted amidships from the detonations of their power cores. The explosions then mushroomed to encompass each Bothan Assault Cruiser, and Jacen felt the waves of death that ensued.

The Sekotan fighters had already disengaged and were heading back for their homeworld, while several of the remaining Bothan-piloted ships were swallowed up by the brief explosions. The relatively few who survived scrambled in the wake of the synchronized explosions' dissipation, turned away from Zonama Sekot, and jumped into hyperspace, heading back to Galactic Alliance space.

And that left Jacen feeling even worse than he expected. All those lives that he just took made him traumatized; not as badly as when he was tortured by Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong, but this came damn close. Even during the Vong War, he was at least unable to feel any of the Vong he killed.

Sure, there were times when Jacen fought Peace Brigaders, but they were comparatively few, and certainly not on the destructive level that he had just wrought upon the _Avengeance_ and her five fellow Assault Cruisers. And no amount of self-consoling, telling himself that what he did was necessary to stop the attack on Zonama Sekot, would make him feel justified.

What was worse, though, was that he knew that, for all the pain he now felt, he would do it again to defend Sekot; and that scared Jacen to his core.

Then Danni's concerned voice rang through his mind, as clear and and audible as if she were in the cockpit with him, speaking to him personally.

_Jacen? Are... are you alright?_

Jacen wanted to reach out to her, to let her know that he wasn't alright, that he was the furthest thing from that right now, that he felt nothing but turmoil and regret down to his bones, and that he desperately needed her for comfort.

But he wouldn't dare talk to her; he was too ashamed of himself. He wanted to talk to Danni, but he didn't want to talk to Danni. Right now, he had to be alone in hyperspace, to return to his sojourn, for he knew that for whatever support that Danni or Aunt Mara or anyone else could give him, he had to do this by himself.

He wasn't worthy of their love and support, just as he wasn't worthy of it when he failed to save Uncle Luke, or when he inadvertently started that civil conflict between Peoult's tribe back on Dathomir.

So he turned the _Quest_ away, not responding to Danni, and plotted a hyperspace jump out of the Klasse Ephemera system.


	30. Chapter 30

Captain Joil'ask sat in his command chair, alone except for the skeleton crew along the bridge, and irritated that the _Vindicator_ and the other two Assault Cruisers in his task force, the _Fury_ and the _Vengeful_, had to hide out here in the outskirts of the Chiloon Rift nebula.

He understood that ever since his force had botched the interception of those Yuuzhan Vong-carrying Jedi ships, it caused a stir in the Galactic Alliance to the point that not only did Traest Kre'fey - a man whom Joil'ask admired and respected - resign as Supreme Commander of the GA military, but a search for GA-treacherous Bothans on Bothawui itself was commencing. Hence, according to his contact, Joil'ask's superiors thought that it would be best if he and his fellow Cruiser captains would remain in hiding in a nebula that was outside of GA jurisdiction.

Joil'ask understood all of that, and he accepted it as penance for his failure, but he was desperately itching to get back into the action, and he knew that the rest of his crew felt the same via his interactions with them.

They were wasting away like this, Joil'ask thought; they were sitting on their asses, doing absolutely nothing but hiding until this damn GA planetary investigation died away, while the Yuuzhan Vong were still out there, living away the rest of their miserable lives on a paradise of a living planet. It was bad enough that they continued to live on as a species, but it was worse that they were no doubt living lives of luxury after all they did to the galaxy, especially for the death of Borsk Fey'lya among other atrocities.

And to think that while the Vong were living decent lives on Zonama Sekot, he and his crew were out here practically dying of boredom in what he thought of as a giant space cloud filled with deadly radiation that could kill him and everyone else aboard the _Vindicator_, _Fury_, and _Vengeful_ if it weren't for the Cruisers' protective shields. If nothing else, Joil'ask figured, the Vong would die just for making him and every Bothan under his command in a reverse situation; the Bothans should live in luxury while the best the Vong should ever have, aside from extinction itself, would probably be something like what the Assault Cruiser trio's crews were undergoing.

So Joil'ask half-thought of throwing a party once he received a transmission from his holographic transceiver, and he saw that it came from his contact.

The holographic transmission revealed the contact, a transgender female-to-male Bothan, whose fur color was indeterminate from the blue-tinted hologram, who was simply named Iraine.

"Captain Joil'ask," Iraine addressed him, "our superiors in the Combined Clans wish you to take your fleet to the Klasse Ephemera system in the Unknown Regions to eliminate Zonama Sekot."

"What happened to the fleet tasked with finding the planet?" Joil'ask asked.

"They failed," Iraine responded. "Prepare your Assault Cruisers for departure from your current location and head to Klasse Ephemera immediately."

"Wait, wait, wait," Joil'ask said before Iraine could cut the communication. "Before I agree to take this assignment, I have to know what happened to the previous designated task force; I don't want to take my people into a situation that none of them will come back from."

Iraine sighed. "If you must know, Captain, from the accounts of the survivors, the Assault Cruisers led by Commander Reh'mwa were destroyed single-handed by Jacen Solo, who used an unprecedented Force-ability that somehow involved transporting concussion missiles into the cores of the Assault Cruisers, destroying them and killing all crew aboard each ship."

"Transporting?" Joil'ask inquired. "You mean he didn't just fire them from his own ship?"

Iraine shook his head. "Again, according to the starfighter pilots who retreated from Klasse Ephemera, Jacen Solo claims that he used a teleportation ability to transport the conc missiles to destroy the _Avengeance_ and her sister ships."

Joil'ask's expression fell into one of frustration; first, Solo somehow managed to disable the _Vindicator_ and her fellow vessels' tractor beams in a way that Joil'ask didn't think was possible from any Jedi, and now this teleportation thing that killed all those crews.

Solo was a great danger to the Bothans' operations, Joil'ask thought, and he had to be stopped. But how could anyone hope to stop someone of the former Jedi's abilities?

Then it hit Joil'ask.

"Captain Joil'ask," Iraine cut in, "if you do not accept this mission, you and your crew will be dishonorably dischar-"

"I know how to defeat Jacen Solo!" Joil'ask interrupted excitedly.

Iraine looked flustered, but nevertheless maintained his professional demeanor. "If it will aid in our quest to exterminate the Vong, then how do you think you'll proceed with this, Captain?"

Joil'ask grinned ferociously. "Have you ever heard of the ysalamiri of Myrkr, Iraine?"

.

Upon dropping out of their first hyperspace run from Zonama Sekot, both the _Jade Shadow_ and Jaina's Blastboat had a hypercomm message from Tahiri Veila. Mara and Jaina each activated the message and the recorded holographic Tahiri said, in a tense voice, "Master Skywalker, Jaina, when you get this message, contact me immediately."

"Did you get that, Jaina?" Mara asked when she contacted her niece.

"Yeah, I did," Jaina replied from the other end of the transmission. "Let's contact her together."

"Right."

It didn't take that much longer before they had a frequency established between systems, and Tahiri had responded almost instantly.

"I'm glad you two responded," Tahiri stated in the same tense voice with which she delivered her hypercomm message. The expression in her holographic form shared the same tensity.

"What happened?" Mara asked the blonde.

After Tahiri told Mara and Jaina about the Bothan attack over Zonama Sekot and how the Assault Cruisers were destroyed by Jacen single-handed, Jaina asked, "And you don't know why Jacen just took off like that?"

"You would know better than I, Jaina," Tahiri said. "Your twin bond with him practically makes the two of you telepaths."

Mara winced while Jaina grimaced.

"That hasn't exactly been true lately, Tahiri," Jaina replied.

"Why's that?" Tahiri asked when Jaina didn't elaborate.

Jaina hesitated before she responded. "My family and I have kind of... disowned Jacen for not attending Uncle Luke's funeral. I've been keeping my distance from him, so I haven't been as keen on reading his thoughts."

Tahiri looked angry. "Well.. I'm sorry that you... actually, no. I'm not sorry. You should be ashamed of yourself for doing that, Jaina."

Jaina looked at Tahiri in perplexity. "Excuse me?"

"What if Jacen were to die all of a sudden? Huh?" Tahiri pressed. "What would happen then? Your brother would die believing that you hated him, and where would that leave you? You'd regret it, Jaina. You'd regret just as I regretted not sharing my last kiss with Anakin before he..." Tahiri trailed off, unable to say the last word.

Jaina gritted her teeth and was about to launch into an argument with Tahiri, only for Mara to cut her niece off by saying, "Alright, alright, break it up. We can't have this right now. We have to keep on track with what just happened. You two can resolve this later."

In spite of what she just said, Mara couldn't help but agree with Tahiri; but sustaining an argument like that would have just been a waste of time and would have led to a whole bunch of tears that neither any of them could afford.

Thankfully, Jaina and Tahiri complied with Mara.

"Now," Mara said, getting back on track, "one would think that those Bothan Assault Cruisers probably followed us, and I mean Jacen, Jaina, and myself, to the Klasse Ephemera system, but I doubt that, because A: if those Assault Cruisers had followed us, then the ones led by Captain Joil'ask wouldn't have tried to blast us away while we were still transporting our Yuuzhan Vong to Zonama Sekot; and we're assuming that the Assault Cruisers that attacked Sekot and the ones under Joil'ask's command are operating under the same party here. If they are different parties, then we have a whole lot of other variables we have to consider, but assuming that they are on the same side, and I think they are if they all want to accomplish their _ar'krai_, trying to intercept us during our transportation wouldn't make any sense. Especially since they ran the risk that we would get away, which we have, and alert the Galactic Alliance about a Bothan movement still looking to wipe out the Yuuzhan Vong, which we also did.

"And B: since the Bothans, by and large, do want the Yuuzhan Vong exterminated, then it's probably very likely that they have been searching through the Unknown Regions since sometime after the end of the war to find Sekot. Do I think it's a coincidence that they found the living planet after we delivered Nom Anor and the others? Not entirely; but I don't think any of us were responsible, at least not directly anyway, for those Assault Cruisers finding and attacking Sekot when they did, and no, neither of us had any tracking beacons; trust me, I always scan for tracking beacons on my own ship and on the ships I travel with, and I'm _thorough_. So, like I said, the Bothans finding and attacking Zonama Sekot was very likely the result of a concerted effort on their part to find and exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong."

"This would be a lot easier to find out if that is true," Tahiri commented. "But with most of the Bothans who attacked Zonama Sekot dead and the few who survived having left the system, we're not gonna get anything anytime soon. Except for an evacuation from Klasse Ephemera; everyone on Zonama's already preparing to go underground and wherever else they can, as Sekot's ready to get outta here so we won't face a much larger contingent of Bothans or whoever else wants the Yuuzhan Vong dead. Even though the Bothans probably don't know that Jacen was the one who blew up those Bothan Assault Cruisers and that he's now gone, we can't assume that just because half a dozen Bothan Assault Cruisers were blown up simultaneously that it'll deter anyone else from attacking; some beings are just too arrogant and too stupid to know when to back down."

"Indeed. Jaina and I both wish you luck in the times you'll face ahead then, Tahiri," Mara said. She spoke for her niece, as she didn't think it was a good idea for Jaina and Tahiri to talk, what with Tahiri calling Jaina out for disowning Jacen like that. "May the Force be with you, Sekot, and everyone else on Zonama."

"And with you, Master Skywalker," Tahiri returned with a nod.

Mara repressed the grimace over Tahiri not addressing Jaina and was about to kill the communication when Tahiri spoke again.

"Oh, and, Jaina?"

Mara tensed at what the blonde might say next.

"Danni told me that after he took out those Assault Cruisers, Jacen left feeling guilty and disgusted with himself."

Tahiri then killed the communication from her end.

Mara sighed, then addressed her niece. "Do you think we should find Jacen?"

Jaina paused before responding, a look of hard thinking on her expression. That expression changed when she replied to her aunt.

"_I'll_ search for Jacen, Aunt Mara. You have to return to Denon; if this whole Bothan thing is as serious as we think, the Galactic Alliance is gonna be facing a whole lot of trouble, and it'll need the Jedi Masters for this. I think they can do without one Jedi Knight for a little bit."

Mara gave her niece a small smile. "Good luck then." She then placed the _Jade Shadow_ back into hyperspace, back for the Galactic Alliance, while Jaina went to search for her brother.


	31. Chapter 31

Koro Ziil had managed to gather every single Baran Do Sage in the Gathering Hall of his Temple, and once they had all settled down, he, in the very center of the room, began to speak.

"My fellow Sages, you are all present for my delivery of grave news; news that had been foreshadowed by our human guest student, Jacen Solo. I have had a much more stable vision than his; where he saw corrupted colors brought about by interfering lights, I have now seen the galaxy once again consumed by war; and it is a war perpetuated by the Jedi.

"I do not know when this war will take place exactly, but I fear that it may be relatively soon, even after the devastation wrought by the Yuuzhan Vong. So here is what I propose: we will take our Order underground... literally.

"From there, we will seem to have died off, just as the Jedi Order had at the end of the Clone Wars. And we will be safe, and we will continue to live and teach our ways in peace. Those who wish to disband from this Order, you may do so, but you must give a solemn parting vow to me personally that you will not tell a soul outside of this Order about what we intend to do. Those who are in favor, you will follow me to the depths of our world, and we can avoid the galactic chaos that threatens to charge even at Dorin."

An overwhelming number of Sages in the crowd around Ziil then voiced their support for his plan, making him feel all the lighter for it.

.

Jacen had screamed and screamed and screamed as he sat up against the bulkhead of the _Solo Quest_, which simply lay in the middle of realspace from its previous hyperspace jump. Then, when he could scream no more, but still felt an incredible and ineffable pain, the weight of so many lives that he had taken, and always with his ever-present guilt over Uncle Luke's death, he took to one final resort: alcohol.

The _Quest_ had been stocked with Corellian brandy, whiskey, and at least one brand of alcohol from many other worlds. It came as part of the stock aboard each freighter of every kind that came from Corellia and its sister worlds since the end of the war.

Jacen never thought that he would ever have to resort to alcohol; he never thought that it would ever have to be used to calm him down by dulling his senses. But he was grateful for it now, and he sat along the bulkhead behind him with a bottle of Corellian brandy in hand, his thoughts mercifully hazy, unfocused, and empty until he fell into a dreamless sleep.

And as he slept, his Force-senses practically inactive, Jacen wasn't even able to unconsciously detect the SoroSuub Personal Luxury Yacht run by pirates drop out into the system where the _Solo Quest_ simply floated.

The male Duros captain, Fanq, pointed at his female Zeltron comm officer Pejela, wordlessly letting her know to open up a hailing frequency for Fanq to let whoever was aboard the YT-2400 to surrender. However, when no response came, and the YT continued to float out there, Fanq simply shrugged and waved at Pejela to cut off the unanswered frequency.

The Duros then turned around to face his armed-and-armored brother, Lafane, and the latter's group of five armed-and-armored pirates. Fanq gave his brother the airlock number that he and his group should standby at. With that, Lafane and his pirates turned and left the bridge before Fanq turned back to order the helmsman, a male Ishi Tib named Drenars, to pilot the yacht forward so that the designated airlock could dock with the YT-2400's as planned.

The yacht soon docked airlocks with the unmoving _Quest_ and moments later, once there was a clear way between the ships, Lafane and his team boarded. Their senses were on the alert, their blaster rifles upraised before them, in search of any potential resistors aboard with them. But after minutes of searching, they found nothing worth stealing except for the stash of alcohol, which their two Gamorrean members piled into the primitive burlap sacks that each carried.

And, of course, Lafane and his two other team members, a Weequay and a Kaleesh, both male, found the _Solo Quest_'s sole legal occupant slouching in a drunken sleep along the corridor, an empty bottle in his empty grip as he was surrounded by a series of other empty bottles.

Lafane's eyes widened once he got a good look at the occupant's face, and he immediately brought out his datapad to take a holopic of the human down before him. Lafane then slung his blaster rifle back into his shoulder holster, activated his commlink, and contacted his brother.

"Captain, you're never gonna believe who's at my feet right now!"

"Who?" Fanq asked impatiently.

"I'm sending you the pic," Lafane said as he briefly operated on his 'pad.

A moment later, Fanq's voice came back, startled. "Are you _kidding_ me, Sarge?! That's _Jacen Solo_!"

"That's right, Cap'n," Lafane replied. "And you know what that means?"

Lafane could practically hear the devious smile from his sibling. "Big, fat ransom from Mommy and Daddy."

"Worth more than anything in here, I can tell ya that," Lafane said even as the Gamorreans joined him and the other two pirates.

"Excuse me, Sarge, Captain," the Kaleesh said, bringing Lafane's attention to the other alien. "But do you really think it's a good idea to kidnap Jacen Solo and demand ransom money from his parents? We're talking about Han Solo and Princess Leia, the heroes of the Rebellion, New Republic, and Galactic Alliance, who all saw to the downfalls of the Empire, the Vong, and so many other threats in between for so many years now; and we're just a buncha pirates, no disrespect intended. Do we really wanna piss 'em off?

"And plus, even if I thought this was a good idea, we don't even have the necessary facilities aboard to hold a Jedi like Solo; we don't have any ysalamiri on hand. I mean, what are we gonna do, keep him drunk the whole way through? Yeah, I'm sure he won't die of alcohol poisoning and thus render the whole ransom a bust, never mind getting on the _real_ bad side of Han and Leia Solo for killing their son."

"We have a hefty supply of anesthetics aboard the yacht," Lafane said, irritated at his subordinate questioning his plans like this. "You can keep him sedated the whole way through; and we'll even pick up some more anesthetics along the way so we don't run out."

"Okay, but we'd still be dealing with _Han Solo and Princess Leia_," the Kaleesh punctuated. "And something tells me that's not gonna end well for us."

"Grendo makes a good point, Sarge," Fanq's voice came over the commlink. "The risk of dealing with the Solos is way too high to take."

"Then what do you think we should do, Captain?" Lafane asked.

"Hmm. Well, we could just make off with what we got and leave him here, if not kill him so we won't have any problems with him later. And I doubt that even his Force-sensitive mom can tell who exactly killed her son; we could get away with this."

"Killing him does sound like a good idea after all," Lafane agreed as he deactivated and pocketed his datapad before pulling out the blaster rifle from its holster and leveled it at Solo's head.

But before he could pull the trigger, a flash grenade suddenly appeared between him and the human, as if from thin air. The grenade hung there for a moment before detonating in a blinding but otherwise physically harmless white light.

Lafane and his other pirates stumbled back from the light; and as they were distracted, a black, opaque container formed around Jacen's body, as if a cocoon, and as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

And so was Jacen himself, as Lafane and the others found when they recovered from the flash grenade's effects.

The next thing they knew, they found themselves dying from the vacuum of space, as the _Solo Quest_ disappeared around them. Simultaneously, air vented from the pirated yacht from its open airlock before an emergency hatch closed over it, preventing the further venting of air from the ship.

Nearby, the giant Aing-Tii ship that dropped out of hyperspace from behind the yacht, which had yet to react to the organic-looking vessel's arrival before Jacen's disappearance, fired its destructive weapons upon the yacht, blowing it to so much flotsam and jetsam that not a single soul aboard survived.

The Aing-Tii vessel then reverted back to hyperspace, the crew aboard having achieved its goal of getting Jacen Solo and his own ship aboard theirs.


	32. Chapter 32

A few hours after being rescued from the pirates whom he never knew about, Jacen awakened in the black cocoon-like container he was in, surprised that he could breathe as well as he did now.

So finding himself here instead of the corridor of his ship, and without a banging hangover to boot, he used the Force to break the cocoon apart, and he collapsed to the deck of a ship that was_, _thankfully, the _Solo Quest_.

However, instead of finding himself alone, he found himself standing across the corridor of his ship at a familiar alien.

"Tadar'Ro?" Jacen asked curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I saved you, Jacen," the Aing-Tii said via the translator that gave him Jorj Car'das's voice. "Saved you from the destitution that you were putting yourself through, and I have even purged your body of the toxins you put in yourself, along with their aftereffects."

_Well, that explains the lack of a hangover_, Jacen thought.

"And I, and my people," Tadar'Ro continued, "have taken you so that you can help us."

"Help you? With what?"

"With our own salvation," Tadar'Ro elaborated. "You see, not long after you left us, our last prophet died; but before he did, he left an ominous warning that the galaxy was doomed to another devastating conflict, one that we fear that it will not recover from."

Jacen looked concerned but confused. "That doesn't explain what you need me for."

"Quite frankly, Jacen, I'm not quite sure if you can even help us at all," Tadar'Ro said. "I did it as a desperate act, truth be told; but it was one that was founded through a glimmer of hope. You see, I really think that you are special, Jacen, from our brief time together. I believe that you are destined for greatness, more so than what you have already gained during the Yuuzhan Vong War, and that you may be able to subvert whatever may plague the galaxy to the point that it will embroil even the Aing-Tii."

Jacen gave a humorless smirk. "Look, no offense, Tadar'Ro, I'm grateful for what little you were able to teach me in my brief time with you, but if anything, I'd probably make whatever new conflict's coming worse."

Tadar'Ro tilted his head in curiosity. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm more likely to spread more death and destruction than I'll be able to stop," Jacen said in a morose tone. "Especially with what I did with the teleportation ability you taught me; in fact, it's actually what led to the destitution you brought up."

"What did you do with the ability?"

"I _killed_ people, Tadar'Ro," Jacen intoned with maddened eyes. "I used weapons from my ship, concussion missiles, and transported them aboard the ships of the people I was fighting, and they all _died_. I _felt_ their deaths; felt their lives explode with their ships before they disappeared into the Force forever! And it was one of the most horrifying things I could possibly experience."

Jacen began hyperventilating, as if he had asthma, and he slipped down along the corridor behind him, the vision of the six exploding Bothan Assault Cruisers vivid in his memory.

But a sharp, silver _whack!_ across Jacen's head brought him out of his thousand-yard-stare, and he was brought back to reality as he saw Tadar'Ro recoiling his tail.

"I am truly sorry that I had to do that to you, Jacen," the Aing-Tii said. "But I had to help bring you back to where you are now, to where you can be calm, at peace."

Jacen looked at Tadar'Ro in shock. "You couldn't just help me get out of that with a Force-technique or something?!"

"I could have," the alien admitted. "But that smack I gave you? Think of it as a smaller-scale version of the deaths that you caused, that led you to drink that alcohol. It was necessary, was it not?"

Jacen looked at Tadar'Ro and nodded reluctantly as he was on the verge of tears.

"I know that was hard for you, Jacen, the deaths you caused," Tadar'Ro went on. "But so long as you know that it was necessary, that it was in the right, then you can begin the first step to accepting that you are not a monster. Again, mine is a smaller scale version of what you did; yes, I feel guilt about inflicting violence upon you, even as minor as that tail lash was, but I do not let it overcome me, because I hold to it that I know that it was necessary to help you. Not only physically, of course, but mentally; so also think of what you just went through with me as another learning experience, as an extension of our time together."

For a moment, Jacen thought back to his time with Vergere. That violent act that Tadar'Ro inflicted upon him wasn't so much a smaller scale version of what Jacen did to those Bothans back at Klasse Ephemera; it was a microcosm of all that Vergere had taught him.

"Now I will leave you in peace until we return to my homeworld," Tadar'Ro concluded before turning away.

"Wait," Jacen said as he stood up and turned in the Aing-Tii's direction.

Tadar'Ro stopped but didn't turn.

"You said that you and your people took me," Jacen pointed out. "Where am I?"

Tadar'Ro turned back and wordlessly headed to the _Solo Quest_'s cockpit. Jacen followed, figuring that the answer would be there.

And through the viewport, Jacen saw the vast, cavernous interior of an Aing-Tii Sanhedrim ship.

"This is how we are returning to my homeworld," Tadar'Ro elaborated while Jacen marveled at the interior of the Sanhedrim.

.

Once again, Derapp Joil'ask growled in impatience and irritation as he sat in the _Vindicator_'s command chair as the Assault Cruiser and her two sister ships orbited Myrkr. Even after the fun that was had in blowing up the dead husk of a Yuuzhan Vong worldship, the _Baanu Rass_, that was also orbiting the planet, Joil'ask was still restless as he wondered why it was taking so long for the crew members whom he sent down on the planet to collect ysalamiri.

Add to the fact that at any moment, at least one ship of some kind, Galactic Alliance or not, could drop out into the system and spot the three Bothan Assault Cruisers, and Joil'ask felt an undercurrent of anxiety. If any ships that were to drop out into the Myrkr system were part of the Galactic Alliance, whether civilian or military, then they could very well tell anyone they knew about the presence of the Assault Cruisers who were the ones responsible for attacking the Jedi convoy bringing those three Yuuzhan Vong to Zonama Sekot. If not, if they were independent or something along those lines, then rumors will spread from there, and the GA will get wind of it eventually.

Either way, unless the _Vindicator_ and her sisters stopped and destroyed any such ships, or unless such ships were Bothan, then Joil'ask and everyone under his command would be in trouble. Sure, Myrkr was in a region of space not owned by anyone, not even the Galactic Alliance or any of the pirates or smugglers who once owned the planet, like Talon Karrde, so travel here was little to none. Hell, the GA didn't even bother to make any reparations to Myrkr after the Vong took it.

Still, being here was still a big risk for Joil'ask and the men and women under his control; and the longer they stayed here, the greater their chances of getting caught were.

Finally, after two days in orbit over Myrkr, the communication officer's board beeped and she activated it. After a moment, she turned in her seat and addressed Joil'ask.

"Captain, Lieutenant Sera'vas is reporting in on the ysalamiri hunt," the officer reported.

"Patch him through to my command chair," Joil'ask ordered.

"Aye, sir."

Seconds later, Lt. Sera'vas's miniature blue-tinted form appeared from the holoprojector installed in Joil'ask's chair.

"Captain," the lieutenant said, "Myrkr is practically a wasteland, so we're lucky we managed to find any ysalamiri as we did."

"How many did you find?" Joil'ask asked.

Sera'vas was hesitant in his response.

"Well, go on," Joil'ask commanded, his patience getting thinner than it already was. "How many?"

Sera'vas gulped. "Only a mere three dozen, sir, which is the exact total. The species is endangered at this point."

Joil'ask sighed in defeat. Only a mere three dozen ysalamiri, a dozen for each of his Assault Cruisers. And given that each ysalamiri had a Force-repressing field that went no farther than ten meters, Joil'ask knew that it wouldn't be enough to protect his ships from Jacen Solo's destructive capabilities. The placing of each ysalamiri across all three ships would have to be strategic and in certain critical places where it could not be afforded to have Solo destroy; and it was going to be a pain in Joil'ask's furry backside getting all of this organized.

"I'm sorry, sir," Sera'vas apologized. "But, as I said, this is all we could-"

"Bring 'em up," Joil'ask interrupted. "They'll have to do; and besides, we're already behind schedule as it is on the hunt for Zonama Sekot. Make sure that a dozen ysalamiri are placed aboard each Cruiser, Lieutenant; we'll sort this out while we're in hyperspace."

"Aye, sir," Sera'vas responded with a crisp military salute before Joil'ask cut off the communication.

But before Joil'ask could even prepare to wait for Sera'vas and his team to return from the planet's surface with their precious few ysalamiri, a direct transmission came through to the captain's command chair. Joil'ask sighed in further irritation before he brought it up, already knowing who it was.

"Captain Joil'ask," Iraine addressed him.

Joil'ask braced himself for an angry rant from the transgender Bothan over what was taking so long in the ysalamiri collection from Myrkr; but the captain braced himself as if he were about to endure a child's rant instead of a reprimand from someone in authority.

"Our probes in the Klasse Ephemera system have shown that Zonama Sekot is no longer there," Iraine said instead.

Joil'ask then perked up at this news. "No longer there?"

Iraine shook his head. "Considering the attack that Jacen Solo foiled there, it was reasonable to assume that it would probably have jumped to hyperspace into another system, as it has before, to avoid any further confrontations. And since you would be delayed in your would-be arrival there, what with your collection of the ysalamiri to ward off whatever special attacks Solo might have, our superiors in the Combined Clans thought that it would be necessary to see if the living planet had left for its own safety."

"Wait, if our superiors knew that the planet might leave the system because of the failed attack by Commander Reh'mwa and his forces," Joil'ask said, "then why did they think to send me into the Klasse Ephemera system in the first place?"

"They didn't think that the planet would actually leave, what with the defense that Solo provided," Iraine replied. "But a few probes were sent just in case, and they confirmed that the planet is gone."

"Is there any word about Zonama Sekot's current whereabouts?" Joil'ask asked.

"Nothing yet," Iraine said. "And we dare not ask the Chiss Ascendancy; what with their current good standing with the Galactic Alliance, they wouldn't condone our _ar'krai_. Nevertheless, our superiors demand that you head to the Unknown Regions as soon as possible and begin your search wherever and however you want to; just avoid any territories that we know for a fact that the Chiss have a stake in. Do you have your ysalamiri in case you run into Solo or whatever other Jedi are out there?"

"Not a lot, but hopefully, they'll be enough," Joil'ask said. "But before you sign off, Iraine, something occurs to me; it's kind of suspicious that Sekot would leave, given how Solo had decimated Commander Reh'mwa's forces. With Solo at its side, one would think that Sekot would remain confident to stay in Klasse Ephemera."

"Perhaps it does not wish further violence upon other beings who wish it harm," Iraine suggested evenly. "After all, if a living planet was willing to negate harm to a species such as the Vong, then I imagine it would not wish to do harm to Bothans."

"Maybe," Joil'ask conceded. "Or perhaps Solo left the system, too; but without the planet."

Iraine straightened up as he narrowed his gaze on the captain; in turn, Joil'ask grinned and nodded at the implication.

But the transgender informant's look dropped. "Your task is to find Zonama Sekot, Captain Joil'ask, not Jacen Solo. If you do run into him, terminate him if you have to, but do not let Solo get in the way of your mission to exterminate the Vong on the planet."

Joil'ask frowned. "Our superiors do not see the need to avenge Commander Reh'mwa and his forces?"

"We have one _ar'krai_ already, Captain, one in which we still have to accomplish," Iraine began. "We cannot divide our concentration in vengeance; if we do that, especially with someone like Solo, we risk letting everything come apart. Again, kill him if he gets in the way, but do not go out of that way to get him, Captain Joil'ask, at least not until our superiors say otherwise. Is that understood?"

Reluctantly, Joil'ask nodded. "Yes."

In spite of the order he just gave, Iraine gave the captain a sympathetic look. "If we wipe out the last of the Vong, Captain, then our _ar'krai_ on them will be complete; and I can assure you, when that happens, you will be given the order to go after Solo as a priority target personally."

Joil'ask smiled. "Thank you."

Iraine then cut off the connection.

"Sir, Lieutenant Sera'vas and everyone with him has rejoined on their respective Cruisers," the _Vindicator_'s internal sensors officer informed Joil'ask.

"Good. Helm, bring us to a course for the Unknown Regions."

"Aye, sir."

"Everyone," Joil'ask continued after opening up a transmission to the _Fury_ and _Vengeful_, "follow the lead of our vindication."

And soon, they left the system.


	33. Chapter 33

The Chiss homeworld and center of power, Csilla, was guarded as tightly and securely, as it always has been since the establishment of the species' Ascendancy, by its orbital defenses of Star Destroyers, modified TIE fighter clawcraft, and other vessels to ward off any number of dangers that existed in the surrounding Unknown Regions.

But no one in the Defense Force could have predicted the arrival of the system's latest guest: Zonama Sekot.

The living planet dropped out of hyperspace a solid 150 million kilometers away from Csilla. The gravitational impact that Zonama's arrival in the system was minimal, as only a few ships were displaced from their positions in space by at least a few hundred meters, but Csilla and all the other celestial bodies in the system, including the distant sun, remained more or less intact in their orbits.

Still, the appearance of the scarred green planet in the distance put the entire defensive fleet on alert as the military ships hastily reorganized themselves.

Aboard the Star Destroyer _Guardian_, Admiral Feras'ifad'ylak, better known by his core name Sifady, activated the commlink in his command chair.

"Commander Lafan?" Sifady addressed the clawcraft squad leader, Keral'afa'nagil, by her core name.

"Aye, Admiral?" Lafan responded from the other end in a professional yet obviously rattled tone.

"Take your squad and make a pass over Zonama Sekot," Sifady ordered. "Try to contact the planet and see what it and its people want."

"Acknowledged, sir," Lafan replied.

Sifady then cut off the comm and watched through the _Guardian_'s forward viewport as a dozen clawcraft soared from the Defense Force for Zonama.

The Admiral and his forces then waited for several minutes in tense silence before the comm in Sifady's chair activated; he answered it the very second it beeped.

"Commander?" he asked.

"Sir, Zonama Sekot's Magister Jabitha Hal wishes to speak to you via holographic transmission."

"Put her on," Sifady commanded as he turned on his holoprojector, waiting for Magister Hal's transmission to come through.

When the static, blue-tinted form of Hal came through, she said, "Greetings, Admiral Sifady. I will cut right to the chase; seeing as how you are the highest-ranking military commander in the Chiss Ascendancy, I wish to meet with you and the Ruling Families of your government to discuss negotiations."

"Negotiations?" Sifady asked. "For what?"

"For Zonama Sekot and all of her people to live under the Chiss Ascendancy's protection," Hal answered.

Sifady's face livened into an expression of shock, along with everyone else along the _Guardian_'s bridge.

"Why do you want our protection?" Sifady inquired. "Were you not safe enough in the Klasse Ephemera system?" He, like many others, didn't know for certain if that was the system that Zonama Sekot hid itself in, but given the search for the planet made by Luke Skywalker's party prior to the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, it was rumored that Sekot hid in that system. And Sifady was certain that those rumors were true.

"The system that was chosen," Hal said carefully, "was compromised thanks to an attack made by vengeance-seeking Bothans, who wished to see the last of the Yuuzhan Vong wiped out. And because of the good terms that your government has with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, Sekot believes that the Chiss Ascendancy would be willing to defend us from any further attacks."

Sifady sat back in his chair and placed a hand beneath his chin in contemplation over Hal's proposal. "I am open to this. Of course, I will first have to broach this matter to the Nine Ruling Families to see if they will even agree to this proposal."

"But assuming they agree," Hal said, "I also assume that there will be a price to our protection?"

Sifady grinned. "Zonama Sekot would not have come here if she was not willing to make a deal," he stated as more of a fact than a question.

Hal nodded. "We are willing to trade with you, but only in non-lethal supplies. No weapons; the galaxy has too many of those overall. And we are willing to give you non-weaponized ships, which cannot be equipped with any lethal additions later on. You may use your own weaponized ships to defend whichever vessels we give you for whatever reasons you deem necessary, but if you and the Ruling Families are unwilling to make this deal, and wish to have weapons, then we will leave and look elsewhere for protection."

"Sekot would be hard-pressed to find a force or party anywhere else in the Unknown Regions who are willing to defend her as much as the Chiss Ascendancy," Sifady pointed out.

"Perhaps," Hal conceded. "Still, we are willing to bargain, and I am sure we can give you many things that you may find for non-military use."

"Let us hope so," Sifady said. "I will contact you within the week to let you know whether or not the Ruling Families have agreed to your proposal, Magister Hal. Until then, consider your stay here a temporary arrangement."

"Thank you, Admiral," Hal said before Sifady signed off.

.

The mob of Witches that had gathered days before - and who subsequently left and returned a few hours each day - had all but thinned out and had become a mere tenth of what it had been since it started protesting outside Dathomir's Jedi Praxeum. The controversy surrounding the discovered Yuuzhan Vong, as made by the late Witch Wenakano Peoult, was dying out, as more and more Witches saw the pointlessness and frank stupidity surrounding the issue.

So things were looking up, Kirana Ti thought, even as she was looking down at the significantly smaller crowd from her office. Now if only they were all gone...

Kirana's thoughts were interrupted when she saw big balls of flame suddenly hurtling toward the Praxeum from the distant woods. The accumulated glow from the incoming fiery projectiles attracted the attention of the relatively few gathered Witches, who ceased their protests to a gradual stop.

Then Kirana contacted Streen and all of the other academy attendees through the Force.

_Shield, now!_ she communed.

There was no confusion among any of them; they had all sensed the impending danger, Kirana knew, so there were virtually no impediments as the strength of the Jedi and Witches throughout the Praxeum pooled their strength together and erected a Force-shield to defend against the balls of flame.

However, in spite of the resultant Force-shield's strength, the impact of the fiery spheres wavered at the invisible shield, causing ripples of physical strain to run through the beings of Kirana, Streen, and all of the other Praxeum occupants.

And more and more flaming spheres came, pounding at the steadily weakening Force-shield until Kirana and everybody else inside the academy collapsed to their knees from the contrition. Moments later, the flaming spheres began impacting against the foundation and the walls of the entire Praxeum, shaking the Jedi school while chipping away at it.

_Evacuate!_ Streen ordered through the Force.

Kirana couldn't agree more, but knew that they needed help as well; so she turned back to her desk and pressed the button beneath to activate the distress beacon that would send a GA military crew to help.

Kirana then vaulted out through the window of her office and soared through the air as she descended toward the Praxeum grounds. Around and behind her, other students, of Dathomiri descent and from elsewhere throughout the galaxy, had also vaulted out through other windows even as the flaming balls continued to strike at the Praxeum.

Upon landing, Kirana and everyone else with her cushioned what would have been bone-jarring, if not death-dealing, impacts by using the Force before standing up and sprinting for the exit of the grounds, which were still blocked by the relatively small crowd of Witches, who now looked expectantly at Kirana and the approaching Jedi students.

And once Kirana and the other students finally reached the end of the grounds, the crowd of Witches rose their arms up in the air and manifested giant flaming spheres of their own, which they cast forward upon the approaching Jedi crowd without hesitation.

Kirana jumped and rolled out of the way along with other Jedi students, but she was aware as several beings behind her perished from the spheres. She and other Jedi then unhooked and activated their lightsabers, and others, such as a few of the dual Witch-Jedi students, began to defend themselves from the attacking Witches by using the Force on them, blowing them back or killing a few of the rival Witches by using flaming spheres of their own. Those attacking Witches who decided to fight the defensive Witch and Jedi students took to using their staffs and charged in, commencing several duels.

Kirana found herself to engage one particularly aggressive Witch who leaped through the air and struck down at Kirana with her staff. Kirana blocked the attack off with her lightsaber, and she began to backpedal against the onslaught of the opposing Witch's vicious strikes.

Eventually, by the time the Witch drove Kirana three quarters of the way back to the Praxeum, which continued to be besieged by fiery spheres from within the distant forest, Kirana overcame her opponent's attacks, ducked beneath one of the Witch's wild swings, and came up to cleave off her opponent's staff-wielding arm at the elbow.

The Witch collapsed to her knees, screaming in pain from her cauterized stump of an arm, and after a moment, she became at least partially aware of Kirana's lightsaber leveled up beneath her chin.

"Now tell me!" Kirana cried. "Why are you attacking the Praxeum?!"

"For vengeance!" the Witch replied just as fiercely. "Not only for harboring Vong, but for not doing anything when the Misty Falls clan fell! Your Praxeum _burns_ now, Kirana Ti! It burns in retribution for your complicity with the Jedi!"

Indeed, Kirana didn't even need to turn around to see how true the Witch's assessment was; she could feel the heat of the inferno coming from behind.

A giant fiery sphere then came hurtling down toward Kirana and the Witch. The former tried to jump out of the way, only to be stopped as her defeated opponent used her remaining arm to pin her in place with the Force.

Of course, Kirana had the Force-hold released by decapitating the angered Witch, but by the time that happened, she knew she had only two seconds before the sphere incinerated her and what remained of her maimed and dead opponent - not enough time to evade her death.

But she was suddenly blown off to the side from a Force-push, and the ground where she once stood became a small crater that simultaneously took the remnants of her Witch opponent.

However, at the very same time, Kirana's savior, her longtime friend Streen, who had used the Force to push the dual Dathomiri Witch-Jedi Knight out of the way, was distracted in the midst of his duel with one of the Witches; and that one second distraction cost him his life as his opponent shoved her pointed staff through his sternum.

Kirana felt the sudden spike in Streen's Force-presence as she landed along the ground in a graceful roll before coming up in a feline-like crouch. She pivoted within her crouch and her eyes widened when she saw her friend impaled.

"No!" she screamed.

She then stood up and Force-sprinted across the field, where she decapitated Streen's killer before she could pull her staff out of him.

As Streen's headless opponent collapsed, her grip on her staff released as she fell, Streen himself nearly collapsed on his back before Kirana caught him and gently lowered him down to the ground.

And as Streen lay dying, the raging battle around him and Kirana escalated as more Jedi and Witch students evacuated from the burning Praxeum and more Dathomiri Witches - who could be identified as Nightsisters - entered the battlefield of what was once a peaceful ground for study and peace.

But Kirana was heedless of the growing battle as she observed the staff that was still wedged inside Streen's dying form. She then shifted her now-tearful gaze to his face, which wheezed as he struggled for breath.

"Darkness... is coming... This... is only... the beginning... Fare... well... my friend."

Then Streen was no more; and Kirana found herself lost.

But it was only for a few seconds, as her feeling of loss was almost immediately replaced by the rage inside her. With a wild battle cry, Kirana Ti stood up, a new human being, and began to race through the battlefield, swiping away at unsuspecting enemy Witches with Force-enhanced speed.

In the span of a minute, she managed to kill five enemy Witches.

At that point, the remaining Nightsister and Witch forces turned and rushed off, leaving the burning, crumbling ruins of Dathomir's Jedi Praxeum, and the raging mess that was Kirana's being, in their wake.


	34. Chapter 34

Jacen walked among the expectant Aing-Tii in the village that he was assigned to live in. He was unnerved by their stares, and he knew that they were all hoping, in one way or another, that he could help them either avoid or outright stop whatever their late prophet predicted before he died.

Only a few hours earlier, the Aing-Tii Sanhedrim vessel had dropped out of hyperspace over the aliens' homeworld, and from there, Tadar'Ro and his fellow monks allowed Jacen to take the _Solo Quest_ out through the larger ship without any teleportation. They did, however, send him coordinates for him to land on the planet, and Tadar'Ro had elaborated that it was the village in which Jacen would be staying.

Now, though, Jacen felt lost without Tadar'Ro as his guide; not so much about where he had to go physically, as he was told by Tadar'Ro over the _Quest_'s comm where his hut would be upon landing, but he felt an ineffable feeling of being completely unlike anyone else here. That feeling was heightened as he looked out at the Aing-Tii around him who all wanted to know how exactly he could help them; and it was exacerbated even further when he felt their anxieties through the different "colors" of their Force spectrum.

Thankfully, not a single one of them attempted to actually come up and talk to him, regardless of whether or not they had a translator device like Tadar'Ro did. So Jacen's walk from the _Solo Quest_, which he set down in the woods on the outskirts of this village, to his small yet comfortable, cozy, and still somewhat roomy hut was an otherwise uneventful trip.

Jacen then set himself down on the thin mat that was prepared for him in the center of the hut and released a breath that he hadn't realize he'd been holding in. Here he was now, back with the Aing-Tii, with no idea what to do to help them when he wasn't clear about what kind of threat they, and possibly the rest of the galaxy, would be facing in the near future.

So what was next now? Simply sit here and wait for Tadar'Ro or whoever else to come and see what could be done? Or perhaps meditation?

Meditation. Yes, that did sound like a good idea, Jacen thought. Couldn't go wrong with a little meditation, right?

So Jacen folded his legs, closed his eyes, and opened himself to the Aing-Tii's spectrum of the Force, sinking himself into it. And as he did, the anxiety permeating his mind over that vision on Dorin was one that melted away; he was becoming one with the Force, though not to the extent of the oneness he experienced in his fight with Onimi.

While Jacen no longer believed in either the light or dark sides of the Force, he could still perceive them as part of the spectrum. But they were not so much separate or polar opposites from each other as they were intertwined with all the other aspects of the Force spectrum; the spectrum itself seemed to be fluid and ever-changing, with aspects of the Force that were represented in different colors simultaneously weaving in and out of each other.

Still, Jacen understood just how little he really understood; of course, his Jedi training was a big part of that. And yes, while he did understand how the light and dark sides could possibly be intertwined - his training under Vergere certainly elucidated on that information - he didn't understand what all these other colors meant, or how they intertwined with the light and dark sides as well as the two of them did with each other. His brief learning under Tadar'Ro the first time he was on the Aing-Tii's homeworld never elaborated what the rest of these colors necessarily meant.

Nevertheless, Jacen saw through the colors and perceived that Tadar'Ro was coming. So he dropped out of his meditation, bringing himself back to the physical, mortal plane again, and opened his eyes in time to see the Aing-Tii guide open the door and walk inside.

"Pardon me, but," Jacen said, "why didn't you knock?"

"Ah, yes. It is a custom in many cultures, such as your own, to knock. We do not do that here; if we want to let others know of our arrival, we let them know through the Force. And if the recipient is willing to invite the guest, there is no need for the guest to knock."

"The recipient doesn't feel intruded by such use of the Force?" Jacen asked.

"It depends on how deep such a use of the Force can be. Generally, however, we do not feel intruded upon. Do you, Jacen?" Tadar'Ro inquired.

"Not really," Jacen answered. "I thought I simply sensed you."

"Well, of course you did. But you were willing to invite me in; therefore, there was no need to knock."

Jacen smirked. "How fascinating your culture's thoughts are on manners, Tadar'Ro. Though I have to ask: Is there anything you don't use the Force for?"

"Eating, drinking, and breathing," Tadar'Ro said, "among other regular activities."

"Gotcha," Jacen acknowledged. "So I guess you came over to ask how I could help your people?"

"And the galaxy, yes," Tadar'Ro admitted.

Jacen shrugged. "Well, go ahead. Say or do anything you feel's necessary, Tadar'Ro."

"Actually, I was hoping you would have that, Jacen."

Jacen sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"Come now," Tadar'Ro said. "Surely, there must be something that you feel is within your power."

Jacen shook his head. "Honestly, even though it's probably got nothing to do with what you want, I was actually kinda interested in learning what all the colors mean."

"The colors? Oh, you mean the spectrum," Tadar'Ro stated. "Very well. I am willing to help you understand more of that; perhaps it may even lead you to the answers that our people seek."

Jacen nodded. "I understand how the white and black in the spectrum are the light and dark sides of the Force respectively. But can you tell me what a color such as blue is in the Force?"

"Blue is a state of calm," Tadar'Ro explained. "If it were to be taught among the Jedi Academy, the blue side, as it were, would be more helpful to the white or light side of the Force. It can help center a Force-user such as a Jedi, or Aing-Tii monk in our case, with inner peace and tranquility.

"But it can even aid in the dark side as well; it can help center one such as a Sith to do horrible things, to leave out any and all empathy for other sentient beings, to accomplish his or her ends in a calm, rational manner. By itself, of course, blue is simply that; calm.

"Unlike the red of rage; obvious how it can fuel a dark sider such as a Sith, but red can give just cause to the morality of a Jedi. Red gives a Force-user the ability to be appalled by an atrocious transgression, such as the genocide of an entire people or species. Without rage's red, how could one possibly be motivated to do anything in the face of what could make an ordinary being furious?

"Yellow is that of cowardice; it can prevent one from doing a valiant or courageous act and make one into a fearful, pathetic specimen. But the yellow of cowardice is what can motivate one to get out of a situation that he or she could not possibly surmount; it would be completely understandable for a Jedi to turn and run in the wake of an army of Sith, wouldn't you say, Jacen?

"Green is that of envy; again, while it can lead one into doing greedy, selfish things for themselves, a dark side trait evidently, it can also be used to help others. Green can also have the inverse of envy, which is that of pity; one can be envious not of others, but _for_ others because of what those others lack in comparison to those who have so much more. You can see that through charities and in charitable people.

"Purple is actually one of the two colors of courage, and it is of the calm courage. Where blue and purple are similar in hue, purple is where one can be reduced in fear in what one has to do for him or herself and/or others. Orange is the second color of courage, but it is of the passionate courage, one motivated entirely by feeling, as if it were the red of rage tempered by some of the yellow of cowardice.

"Pink is of lust; to lust after one who cares for you is good, as you may help your loved one. But it can also be destructive; for that reason, it was why the Jedi Order banned romantic attachments prior to their fall by Palpatine's hand.

"Brown is of regret, of things that were expunged either for one's good or one's ill. Regret can make one either sorrowful for an unjust action that he or she has committed and convince them to repent or seek redemption, or it can make them feel unjust for a rightful action that they committed; like you, Jacen."

That stung, but Jacen kept his expression and Force-presence tight.

Tadar'Ro continued. "And all of these colors? All of them have their own distinct, unique shades of their own, nuances that I believe I may even be unaware of."

"So is grey the compromising shade between white and black? Light and dark?" Jacen asked.

While Tadar'Ro couldn't smile, Jacen felt him smile through the Force. "Indeed. Where an action by itself can be both good and bad depending on the circumstance."

"Just as when I killed those Bothans," Jacen remarked.

Tadar'Ro felt regretful; an undercurrent of brown appeared in a faded blur in Jacen's Force-vision as he looked at the Aing-Tii. "Do you feel like you have learned enough for today, Jacen?"

As bad as Jacen felt... "Yes, I do believe I have."

"Then I will see you tomorrow," Tadar'Ro told him, a faded blue of calm now in Jacen's blurred Force-vision. "And, hopefully, we might get closer to what can possibly help us."

Jacen nodded. "I hope so, too."

"Goodnight, Jacen."

"Goodnight, Tadar'Ro."

And with that, Tadar'Ro was gone, and Jacen was left to sleep on the surprisingly comfortable mat.

In his dreams, an aura of light pink surrounded Danni's face, while an aura of green surrounded Tenel Ka's.


	35. Chapter 35

Newly-promoted Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne leaped across the upper branches of the trees before her as she stalked through the jungles of nighttime Dathomir. Around and behind her, the Jedi of her Wild Knights starfighter squadron, which included her Jedi Knight son Tesar, followed in Saba's wake, were as sneaky and stealthy as she was in their hunt for guilty Witches and Nightsisters.

Immediately following the Galactic Alliance response to the signal that Kirana Ti sent out at the beginning of the attack on the Praxeum, which involved a single Star Destroyer and a sole complement of X-wings, the situation had been assessed by the forces that arrived: Dathomir's Jedi Praxeum had been burned to the ground, leaving over a quarter of the Jedi and Witch students in attendance dead in the resultant battle, while a large majority of the Witch forces who committed the attack had fled back into the jungles.

And among the dead of the Jedi and the Witches on their side was Jedi Master Streen, who had been shipped back to Denon for a traditional Jedi crematory funeral. And according to the claims of the Jedi and Witch survivors, Streen's partner in running the Praxeum, Kirana Ti, had also fled into the jungles.

Now, days later, after Streen's body was burned to ashes and subsequently scattered, Saba and the Wild Knights, having been dispatched by Jedi Master Hamner, were not only hunting for the enemy Witches and Nightsisters who had been identified by the Jedi and Witch survivors from the academy, but they were also on a search mission for the missing Kirana Ti. So far, Saba and her team had been able to neutralize two camps of Nightsisters; they had no choice but to kill the dark but unsuspecting Witches in cold blood, as much as it made Saba and her subordinate Knights feel wrong about it.

But to let their presences be known among their enemies, especially on their homeworld, would be more foolish than honorable; prior to leaving Denon for Dathomir, Saba let Kenth know that to ask for Nightsisters and whatever other Witch tribes who had helped them to surrender was not only futile, but it would also be fatal for whomever hunted them. And simply incapacitating them was out of the question; no prisoners could be taken. Hence, they had to resort to tactics that would be better used by Sith; stealth and deception; otherwise, even if they were to have used Jedi tactics of first offering their enemies the chance to surrender, regardless of whether or not the enemies themselves emerged alive or dead in their defeat, it could alert other Nightsisters and enemy Witches of the presence of Jedi.

Communication through the Force on a world like Dathomir could be all too easy between Witches.

However, Saba didn't feel as bad about it as most of the non-Barabel Knights in the Jedi Order did; she, Tesar, and their Barabel counterparts had used stealth and deception to hunt their prey back on their homeworld of Barab I... back before it had been devastated by the Yuuzhan Vong. Saba came to understand how traditional hunter tactics were typically maligned by Jedi, but even Master Hamner came to understand how and why it was important and necessary, especially when dealing with enemies as powerful as Dathomiri Witches.

Ahead, Saba could sense the Force-presences of gathered Nightsisters, and she communed through the battle-meld of the Knights with her to shield their presences from detection.

It was time to hunt again.

Saba and each of the Knights took positions around the camp of their prey, the darkness of the night sky camouflaging them from mere sight. That gave the Wild Knights the small luxury of seeing just how many Nightsisters there were here amidst their blazing campfire in the middle of the site.

But even without the fire, Saba's reptilian sight, which could accommodate for darkness, was fairly able to spot how many Nightsisters there were, roughly speaking. She counted about fifteen, all of them simply sitting around the campfire, not doing anything.

It looked too much like a trap, Saba thought. Even beings as dark as the Nightsisters of Dathomir had the barest minimum of humanity, just enough to function as a society, so Saba imagined that even they would idly chitchat amongst themselves or something along those lines, as strange - and somewhat funny - as that thought was. No, these dark Witches had to be relying on what they thought to be the Jedi's unilateral view of dark siders - that they were all stoically evil - to better lure them in.

Saba sensed that a few of the Knights in her team actually thought that of the Nightsisters; but, again, through the battle-meld, she communed for them not to attack yet.

So she reached out and probed hard for concealed Force-presences, of Nightsisters who might be lying in wait to spring the trap that the dark Witches around the campfire probably had in mind.

But after a solid minute, Saba concluded that either there was no trap - and that the Nightsisters really _were_ that dark and evil that they wouldn't even socialize like most normal sentient beings - or that whoever lay in wait to spring a trap was very good at hiding her presence through the Force from the likes of a Jedi Master.

Either way, Saba wasn't willing to take the chance; as much as she wanted to have herself and her Wild Knights swoop in at random intervals - as they had in their previous two encounters with Nightsisters and Witches who were identified as part of the Praxeum attack - she was smart enough to know when to minimize risks at little to no cost to battle effectiveness... especially when there was a chance that it might _increase_ that effectiveness.

Unhooking and activating her lightsaber - whilst using the Force to mute the activation noise so as to not attract the attention of the gathered Witches below - Saba then threw her lightsaber down and out to the collected Nightsisters in a spinning, Force-controlled arc.

But before the green-bladed lightsaber could swipe at any of the Witches, the ground around them erupted in a circle of green flame that completely disintegrated the lightsaber itself, hilt, blade, and all.

And like that, the Nightsisters around the campfire whirled around just as fifteen other of their brethren pushed themselves up from their cover beneath the ground, all of them brandishing Force-infused wooden staffs for combat.

Growling, Saba leaped from her perch on the tree branch that she had chosen and unleashed a Force-wave toward one of the Witches, blasting her back against one of her sisters-in-arms behind her. And upon landing, Saba landed atop an unsuspecting Nightsister, pinning her to the ground before grabbing at her throat and ripping it out through her neck with one of her scaly, taloned hands.

The Barabel Jedi Master then brought up her victim's staff into both hands, twirled it around for a few seconds, and then began to duel two vengeful Nightsisters, holding her ground against them instead of backpedaling from their fury.

Around and behind Saba, the other Jedi in the Wild Knights had already leaped from their own perches, their lightsabers alight and engaging in duels against the Nightsisters around them, often two at a time.

It didn't take long for Saba to defeat one of the Witches that she engaged, as she managed to pass over one of the attacks of the Nightsister to her right before leaping up and delivering a double-booted kick to her chest. Then, upon landing from a backward flip, she locked her still-standing opponent's staff against the loamy ground before using her free hand to punch the Nightsister in the face; this opened up a position for Saba to slit her stunned foe's throat with the pointed end of the staff that she confiscated from her first victim. And before her downed opponent could recover from the kick, Saba was already in the air even as her second victim collapsed dead, and the Barabel managed to spear the Dathomiri through the head with her staff.

And upon landing again, Saba found herself dueling a new couple of Witches, which she dispatched almost as easily as the previous two.

But as the battle in the campsite proceeded, Saba, on the periphery of her senses - both natural and through the Force - could perceive her subordinate Knights dying. There were twelve of the Knights in total, and three of them had already unwillingly joined the Force within the first five minutes.

The battle dragged on, and two more Wild Knights died, even as a total of sixteen of the Nightsisters had died, seven of them by Saba's hand. But eventually, even the Jedi Master was beginning to feel overwhelmed, and before she could kill her eighth and ninth victims, the one to her left speared the Barabel through her thigh while the one to her right slashed at her staff-wielding arm, sending the wooden weapon flying from her reptilian grasp.

Saba was then blasted by a combined Force-wave from the Witches she had just dueled and they pinned her down against the ground. And as this happened, Saba sensed two more of her Wild Knights die off, and she sensed that Tesar was heavily wounded by now. However, even with the rage and the fear for her son's safety, the battle had taken too much out of Saba, and she felt that there would be no renewal of energy that could possibly save her and her team.

But before either of the Witches could bring their staffs down to kill their helpless Barabel victim, both of them were decapitated in a single stroke by a blue-bladed lightsaber that appeared behind them.

And after both headless corpses collapsed to the ground at either side of Saba, the Barabel looked up and saw that her rescuer was Kirana Ti.

But it wasn't the Kirana Ti that Saba had come to briefly know. Yes, she was a powerful and strong Dathomiri Witch like before, but there was calmness, rationality, and a stable spirit before. Now Kirana looked deranged, unhinged, and completely lost as a sentient being.

Saba thought she saw a faint glimmer of the previous Kirana in her eyes, but the Barabel couldn't determine if that was for sure; she had already swept further across the battlefield, where she killed four more Nightsisters in rage-induced duels.

Taking advantage of the wild card that was the mad Kirana Ti, Saba and her remaining Knights took to taking care of the last ten Nightsisters.

And in the end, Saba and the remaining Knights, including wounded Tesar, emerged victorious, and Kirana stood with her back to all of them, her stare looking out into the dark depths of the jungle.

Saba stood up from kneeling over her wounded son, who was being tended to by the Wild Knights' field physician, and walked over to Kirana. But she stopped a few meters from the Witch-Jedi.

"Thank you for your help, Kirana Ti," Saba told her.

Kirana made no response; didn't even turn to look back at the Jedi Master.

Saba took no offense and moved on. "Why did you leave after the attack on the Praxeum? Where did you go?" The Barabel hesitated to ask her next question. "What happened to you?"

At this, Kirana finally turned her head to look at Saba from out of her left eye.

"Because I touched the dark side, Saba," she answered in a grim tone. "I touched it when I avenged Streen. I touched it when he died. I touched it when I killed those few Nightsisters who attacked the Praxeum. And there was nothing left for me in the ashes; now I simply exist out here, killing Nightsisters and the Witch tribes who would support them."

"We are doing the same, Kirana," Saba told her. "Join us. We could uze your help. And we have been looking for-"

Kirana whirled around, her eyes wide and maddened. "I am unworthy of being with the Order! I am tainted, forever endowed in the dark side!"

"You can be redeemed!" Saba proclaimed. "We can help you! You may come back with us to Denon!"

Kirana's teeth were gritted and there were tears at the corners of her eyes. "I cannot be helped! I am irredeemable! I can feel it in my soul!"

She then blasted Saba back with a Force-wave, much to the shock of the other Wild Knights. And when Saba looked back up in Kirana's direction, the tainted Witch-Jedi had already turned back and was rushing back through the forests.

Two of the Wild Knights moved to chase after her, but Saba stopped them with, "Wait! Let her go!"

The rest of the team looked at her in confusion.

"If she iz unwilling to be helped," Saba said as she picked herself up, "then there is nothing more we can do. I will inform Master Hamner about Kirana Ti."

"So we are to zimply give up on her?" Tesar asked, his voice still weakened from the now-healing injuries of the deep stabs and scratches across his body.

Saba narrowed her gaze on her son. "She must find her own way." She then looked back to the jungle ahead. "And besides, if she haz helped us, maybe she iz not completely lost."


	36. Chapter 36

"Absolutely not," Aristocra Qeral'asa'fiki - core name Lasif - of the House Sabosen proclaimed to his fellow three Aristocras and Admiral Sifady over their holoconference. "I vote against Zonama Sekot staying here in our system; its presence would place too much of a strain on social relations among our people. We cannot have the world carrying the Yuuzhan Vong in our midst."

"Well, I disagree, and I vote for Zonama Sekot to stay," the transgender male-to-female Aristocra Watu'juhl'yika - core name Ujuhly - of House Csapla announced. "Given the deal that Magister Hal agreed to make, we would be fools not to take them up on their offers for trade; it would add to our resources here on Csilla and in and on our other colonies."

"I am in agreement with Aristocra Ujuhly," the only female Aristocra Easab'lin'opaka - core name Blino - of House Inrokini announced. "It would be very interesting to see how we can incorporate Zonama Sekot's organic technology with our industry, non-military science, and communications."

"While I can understand your reasoning, Aristocras Ujuhly and Blino, I find myself in agreement with Aristocra Lasif over this matter," Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano - core name Formbi - of House Chaf, the leading phalanx of Csilla, said. "Zonama Sekot's presence here is too risky and would be too controversial among the Ascendancy; in fact, I can see factions of Chiss who either bear grudges, like the Bothans, or who simply fear a reprisal of the Yuuzhan Vong at the highest of their power attacking Sekot for the sake of security.

"However, I am not dismissing this out of hand. Admiral Sifady, what say you? Seeing as how you are the swing vote in this matter, do you believe that it would be worth allowing Zonama Sekot to stay as a resident of our system, or do you believe that it should leave as soon as possible?"

Sifady cleared his throat before he spoke. "While I understand where the both of you are coming from, Aristocras Formbi and Lasif, I find myself siding with Aristocras Ujuhly and Blino and their stance of allowing Zonama Sekot to stay in our system. I believe that, even if the planet and its inhabitants would be unwilling to aid us militarily, it is very possible and likely that whatever benefits that Sekot would provide would far outweigh the costs.

"As for the issue of social upheaval, I believe that we can convince the citizens of the Chiss Ascendancy to accept the living planet and its inhabitants as an addition to this system, if not an outright member of the government. Those who would go against that will be citizens who will be going against the law and they will be arrested for such a crime, as it always happens when a citizen of the Ascendancy goes against the government."

Formbi looked skeptical. "Of course, the issue doesn't really end on the side of internal matters. What of the Bothans who wish to see Sekot's Yuuzhan Vong inhabitants wiped out? They are the reason that Sekot has sought asylum in the Csilla system to begin with, and if the Bothans are so willing to fulfill their _ar'krai_, then it is very possible and likely that we will find ourselves at war with them. As well, it has been so little time since the end of the previous war; starting another one so soon is something that cannot be afforded, even with our minimal participation during the Yuuzhan Vong conflict."

Sifady shook his head. "I do not believe that the Bothans will attack in our territory, Aristocra Formbi. Magister Hal believes that the Bothans would be unwilling to start another conflict themselves even for the sake of their _ar'krai_."

"But surely they will continue to pursue it in some other way," Lasif pointed out. "I doubt that a species that has not only exterminated previous peoples in the past but have also wiped the existence of those other species from all galactic records would give up in their quest to conclude their _ar'krai_. They may resort to more duplicitous methods that we should be on the lookout for."

"With all due respect, Aristocra Lasif, what could the Bothans possibly do without entering the Csilla system or entering the systems of any of our other colonies?" Sifady asked. "The minute they do that, they risk war with the Chiss Ascendancy, and they would have even less of a chance at getting at Zonama Sekot than before. I doubt that even a species as intelligent and crafty as the Bothans could possibly do anything against us that would get past our guard."

"I hope you are right, Admiral," Formbi said after a moment of silence between all of them. "I hope you are right." Formbi's grim expression returned to one of professionalism. "Very well. You may inform Magister Hal that the planet is allowed to stay in the system as a permanent resident until otherwise decided, either by us or by the planet itself."

Sifady smiled. "Thank you, Aristocra Formbi."

"As well, tell Magister Hal that I will arrive on Zonama Sekot within the next twenty-four hours to begin the negotiations for this deal with her," Formbi explained.

Sifady nodded. "Of course, Aristocra Formbi."

The head Aristocra then shut off the communication from his end, leaving Sifady to return to his duties as he commed Jabitha Hal.

"Magister Hal, the Ruling Families and I have agreed that you may stay here in the Csilla system as part of the trade agreement that you have offered. Aristocra Formbi is also coming to discuss the details of this agreement with you sometime by tomorrow."

"Thank you, Admiral Sifady," Hal replied with a grateful smile. "I look forward to this meeting."

Sifady nodded, then signed off.

But as happy as he was with this arrangement - or at least content with it - Formbi and Lasif's words lingered in Sifady's mind, and he wondered if he made the right decision after all.

.

Where could he possibly be? Jaina wondered. She'd been searching for Jacen for the past several days now, stopping at various Chiss colonies - all of them welcoming her, what with her clout among the Fel family - along the way, yet she could still find no sign of her brother. Even their twin bond couldn't help her find him for some inexplicable reason, so all she'd been doing was searching from place to place throughout the Unknown Regions for any clue as to her brother's whereabouts.

That bothered her more than not being able to find Jacen physically. Had their bond through the Force been so weakened because of her disowning Jacen as her brother, just as their parents disowned Jacen as their son and as Mara had once disowned him as her nephew?

Either way, it only made Jaina want to find her brother more, to not only try to help him through whatever pain he went through when he stopped that Bothan attack on Zonama Sekot, but to reconcile with him.

Deep down, though, Jaina still felt some resentment toward her brother for missing Uncle Luke's funeral. Sometimes he could be so self-absorbed and introspective that he forgets that there's more to life than just him...

Jaina was jolted out of her reverie as the timer on her console indicated that it was time for the Skipray Blastboat to drop out of hyperspace for a course correction.

And in the empty system she found herself in, she was met by the same trio of Bothan Assault Cruisers that had once tried to kill her, Jacen, and Mara for the Yuuzhan Vong they had transported.

Immediately, Jaina threw her ship into evasive maneuvers while getting the Blastboat's turrets to automatically fire upon the Cruisers for all the good that would do. But, of course, Jaina wasn't actually looking to engage any of the Bothan warships; she was merely trying to escape.

Alas, however, it didn't take long before the Blastboat stopped as if it had suffered a head-on collision with another ship, and Jaina knew that she'd been placed in a tractor beam.

She braced herself, expecting the ship to take a series of lasers that would pummel it to oblivion; and without Jacen around to stop the lasers, Jaina feared that this would finally be it.

But instead of giant lasers that struck at the Blastboat, Jaina looked out through the viewport and found that the three Assault Cruisers, particularly the one in the middle, were getting closer and closer to her, as she was being pulled in by the second Cruiser's tractor beam.

So they wanted to take her prisoner instead of setting about to kill her as they'd attempted to do before. But that prompted a question in Jaina's mind, one that she set about to have answered as she activated the Blastboat's holocomm to hail the Assault Cruiser that was pulling her in.

It was Captain Derapp Joil'ask, the same Bothan captain who previously tried to kill her, Jacen, and Aunt Mara, whose arrogant visage was displayed on the Blastboat's holoprojector.

"If you are going to request to be released, Jedi Solo," Joil'ask said without preamble, and before Jaina herself could say anything, "spare yourself the trouble. You are our prisoner, and there is nothing that will change my mind about that."

"That's not what I was gonna say, Captain Joil'ask. What I was gonna ask was: why do you want me captured? Why don't you want me dead like before?"

"Oh, I'll explain once you're aboard," Joil'ask replied in a confident tone.

Jaina narrowed her gaze at the captain in askance and ridicule. "Really? You think you can take _me_, a Jedi? Well, Captain, I know the Bothans are a proud race, but you got another thing comin'."

Joil'ask's grin remained. "We'll see." He then signed off.

The Bothan's last two words left Jaina feeling cold as the Blastboat was pulled farther in toward the _Vindicator_. What did Joil'ask have planned?

Jaina reached out through the Force and felt... _voids_ in the Force. And they were unlike the lack of presences held by the Yuuzhan Vong; no, these voids promised to _nullify_ her powers.

Ysalamiri, Jaina realized in terror. Joil'ask had brought ysalamiri with him. Clever Bothan, she thought contemptuously.

Thankfully, the ysalamiri were few and far between aboard Joil'ask's Assault Cruiser, and their fields didn't extend far. If Jaina was smart enough to move between or outright avoid the Force-repressing fields...

Then again, Jaina imagined that Joil'ask would have been smart enough to have somehow compensated for his low number of ysalamiri.

Well, still, it didn't mean that she should just give up; far from it. If anything, it meant that she would need to fight harder once she was aboard the _Vindicator_.

Finally, the Blastboat had entered through the _Vindicator_'s docking bay, and already, Captain Joil'ask and half a dozen military guards behind him stood armed with standard issue blaster rifles; and around the captain's neck, as if it were a fashionable scarf, lounged an ysalamir.

Jaina had to think quickly before the tractor beam brought her within the ysalamir's Force-repressing field; while the beam was on, her weapons systems were all but inoperable. She looked out through the viewport, wondering what to do...

Then she saw structural girders along the docking bay's ceiling. She brought up her hands in a swift flash and concentrated, using the Force to pull at the girders. She pulled and pulled and pulled...

And then, just as the tractor beam brought the Blastboat down, well within the ysalamir's field, suppressing her senses and abilities in the Force, the damage to the girders above had been done, and they began to fall down toward Joil'ask and his party.

The captain and his guards looked up and immediately turned and ran away even as the girders collapsed right on top of where they once stood; thankfully, Joil'ask had brought his ysalamir away from Jaina, allowing her to reclaim her senses and abilities in the Force.

That gave her the opportunity to shove at the fallen girders this time, even as Joil'ask and his party began to rush back to where the Blastboat had been forcefully docked.

The pile of girders was too great for Jaina to handle through the Force, but one was just enough to put what she judged to be ninety, ninety-five percent of her concentration to moving one of them before sending it flying towards the captain and his men.

They all ducked beneath it and continued on their way back toward the Blastboat, the guards firing their blaster rifles at Jaina's ship, for all the good that would do given the Blastboat's still-strong energy shield.

So Jaina changed tactics slightly by having the next girder she flung scrape across the docking bay's deck in Joil'ask and his guards' direction; two guards from each side leaped off to their respective sides while Joil'ask and his other two guards expertly vaulted over the girder like the well-trained military men they were. The four guards who had branched away from them rejoined them a moment later.

But that gave Jaina a better idea; she repeated the tactic that she had with the third girder, and again, each pair of guards from either side leaped off again while Joil'ask and his two remaining guards prepared to vault over it.

However, just as their bodies were over the girder, Jaina abruptly brought the girder up. It was a sheer effort of will on her part, more so than before, but it caught Joil'ask and his two guards in the sternum, and in spite of their extra weight, Jaina sent the girder with them hurtling toward the bay's ceiling.

But while the two guards who were with Joil'ask while he was on the girder ended up being bloody messes along the ceiling, the captain himself leaped off in time, and in a trajectory that sent him hurtling in the Blastboat's direction.

But since he didn't have the Force, regardless of the ysalamir's presence around his neck, he wasn't able to soften the impact that the landing had on his legs upon landing. So he collapsed to the deck in writhing agony, and no amount of military training was able to help him dull the excruciating pain that broke the bones in his legs.

And he was still well outside the range required to nullify Jaina's Force-powers.

She then activated her ship's loudspeakers that carried her voice outside the Blastboat.

"Captain Joil'ask, call off your people and let me go, or I pick up another girder and use it to smash you flat."

And when she was done, she Force-lifted another girder and carried it over to where Joil'ask lay even as his remaining guards rushed in to help him.

He waved them off, wordlessly telling them to stop after seeing the looming girder above him. He then looked back toward the still sizable pile of girders, where he'd be able to see Jaina if they weren't there.

"Alright, Solo, you win!"

Jaina grinned in victory, only to hear something suddenly come from the rear of her ship. She flung the girder away from Joil'ask, stood up, and rushed to the back.

There, in the ceiling above, a circle had been cut from the exterior by a wielding torch, and a booted foot kicked the sliced piece of durasteel down onto the deck of the Blastboat.

A Bothan soldier then leaped in, armed with a blaster rifle in one hand and the torch in the other, both aimed at Jaina... and an ysalamir was around his neck, well within Jaina's range.

With no other choice, Jaina, very reluctantly, raised her hands in surrender.


	37. Chapter 37

The first time Jacen felt Jaina's Force-presence disappear, he got worried. Then, when it just as quickly reappeared, he tried to reach out to her through their weakened twin bond, only to find her too focused on whatever was occupying her mind. All Jacen could sense from her was that she was in danger, and there was no way for him to help her.

Then her presence disappeared again, only for it to not reappear.

But Jacen knew that Jaina wasn't dead; if that were the case, he would have felt it, like he did when Anakin died. No, this had to be something else he thought. Perhaps she was being blocked somehow...

Of course! Ysalamiri! As unlikely as it might be, what with the damage that the Yuuzhan Vong did to Myrkr - another painful reminder of Anakin's death, Jacen thought - it was possible that whoever had Jaina now must have scrounged up whatever ysalamiri were left on that planet and used it to capture Jaina.

Jacen then felt Tadar'Ro's presence approach his hut, and the human granted the Aing-Tii permission, through the Force, to enter, as it was time for the next training session. Jacen knew that he would have to tell Tadar'Ro that he would have to cancel this session.

"You feel distressed," Tadar'Ro, upon entering, said without preamble. "Why?"

Jacen sighed. "My sister's in trouble. I'm sorry, Tadar'Ro, but I have to go and save her." He stood up from his mat.

Jacen expected some form of resistance or some kind of appeal from the Aing-Tii not to go, what with his people's vague belief that he could help them through whatever crisis would soon arise.

The human got something along those lines with, "If you leave this planet, Jacen, you will never be allowed to return to Aing-Tii society; by abandoning us, you sever our hopes for the future against whatever will plague this galaxy next."

"And I suppose you'll have regretted saving me from those pirates you mentioned?" Jacen asked.

"I do not regret that," Tadar'Ro said.

"But will your people regret it?"

Tadar'Ro was silent for a moment. "I believe some will; that we went through that trouble for nothing may very well be a sentiment among at least a minority of my people."

Jacen gave a regretful frown. "I hope the Aing-Tii will find some way to be safe, or at least feel safe, if nothing else, Tadar'Ro. But if you and your people are gonna have some kinda savior, that sure as hell ain't me."

Tadar'Ro tilted his head in askance. "And yet you have the aura of a savior, Jacen. I can see that."

"That's not a lie?" Jacen inquired.

"I have never lied to you. But something tells me that you are lying not only to me, but to yourself. Tell me, have you ever done something that you felt made you feel special?"

Jacen hesitated in his response. "Yes, I have."

"What was it?" Tadar'Ro asked.

Jacen sighed. "I ended the Yuuzhan Vong War."

Tadar'Ro looked confused. "I thought that it was your late uncle, Luke Skywalker, who ended the war by killing the Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane."

"Shimrra was just a puppet," Jacen admitted. "The real mastermind behind the invaders was a deformed member of their species named Onimi; as far as I know, he was the only Yuuzhan Vong to have ever been able to use the Force, and his connection to it, combined with his nature as a Vong, allowed him to manipulate Shimrra's mind into doing his bidding. And I was the one who killed Onimi; and I did it by achieving total oneness with the Force."

As Jacen went on, he perceived through the Aing-Tii's view of the multi-spectral Force that Tadar'Ro's aura radiated the green of envy. Jacen could tell as he elaborated on his experience in defeating Onimi was one that Tadar'Ro couldn't help but be jealous of; it was a oneness that a monk like him couldn't help but desire to achieve. It was probably something that he, and probably many other Aing-Tii monks, if not all of them, ultimately desired.

When Jacen was done reiterating what he went through during that fight, Tadar'Ro was silent for a moment, and Jacen allowed him to reel in his envy such that the green aura around him disappeared altogether.

"So why do you doubt your specialness now, Jacen?" Tadar'Ro asked evenly.

"Because my uncle died," Jacen told him, "and I wasn't able to save him; I was too late." At the back of his mind, Jacen wondered if he, too, would be late in saving Jaina if he continued to talk to Tadar'Ro about this.

Again, the monk was silent for a moment before he spoke. "The Force would not have allowed someone to have achieved oneness with it if it allowed one of the greatest Force-users in the galaxy, Luke Skywalker, to have died before it was his time; at least I cannot believe it. But I know that you do not lie on either count; you did achieve oneness with the Force, ending the war, but your uncle died nevertheless.

"Therefore, there is only one conclusion I can reach: that it _was_ your uncle's time to join the Force."

"No," Jacen denied with a shake of his head, barely containing his emotions. "I refuse to believe that. Uncle Luke may have been an old man, but he wasn't that old; he still had a lot of fight left in him. He could have gone on, to help lead the Jedi into the next generation."

"Your uncle would not have died if it was not the will of the Force," Tadar'Ro argued. "Especially not after it allowed you to achieve oneness with it. What you imply is that there is something wrong with the Force itself, Jacen, and that I cannot believe in any way, shape, or form. There is no spectrum in which the Force is not right; not even its dark side."

"Well, maybe there is," Jacen blurted out, "and we mere mortals just don't know about it; or maybe we refuse to accept it."

"If you truly believe that, Jacen," Tadar'Ro said, "then there is no hope for you. And if you go out to help your sister with that belief, then there is no hope for her either."

Jacen didn't know what else to say. All he knew or cared about now was what happened to Jaina; he didn't have time to debate Force-philosophy with Tadar'Ro. The Jacen who was more interested in that had been replaced by a Jacen who was much more like his late brother Anakin, who would rather use the Force as a tool.

A tool it would be, he thought. To the nine Corellian hells with what the Force really was, or who Jacen was because of it. He had to save his sister, regardless if she disowned him or not.

So he walked past Tadar'Ro and toward the exit of his hut.

"Jacen."

The human stopped and reluctantly turned back to the Aing-Tii monk.

"This would have been your last session before you would have learned all you needed to about how we understand the Force," Tadar'Ro told him.

Jacen turned back to the door and finally left.


	38. Chapter 38

In spite of her capture, Jaina still had the pleasure of seeing the heavily wounded Captain Joil'ask be hoisted up by his arms by two of his guards to be carried to the _Vindicator_'s medbay. Still, it wasn't enough of a distraction from the fact that she was still the Bothans' prisoner, confiscated of her weapons, and muted of the Force thanks to the ysalamir around the neck of the guard who arrested her.

A little less than two hours after she was placed in a cell aboard the Bothan Assault Cruiser, she was still wondering what she could do, especially since somewhere within the walls of this cell was at least one ysalamir whose Force-repressing field was still nullifying her powers even after that guard left. Her thoughts were soon cut off, however, when the door opened while she was sitting on her cell's cot, and Captain Joil'ask, now seated in a hoverchair, entered with two rifle-carrying guards at either side of him.

Jaina had to repress the feral grin that she had at seeing Joil'ask wounded like this; she was in no position to be gloating.

"I promised to tell you why I captured instead of killed you, Jedi Solo," the captain said, his tone filled with contempt over what happened to his legs. "So here's why: I am using you as a bargaining chip on your brother. With your life in my hands, I will coerce him into finding Zonama Sekot for us. Then, after the Yuuzhan Vong on that planet have been destroyed, if not along with their precious world, I will have your brother killed for what he did to Commander Reh'mwa and his forces, and then I'll finally do away with you.

"And just so you know, I've already put out a message throughout the HoloNet about your capture; if I can't find your brother, I will certainly let him know through the public way."

This time, Jaina couldn't help but grin at Joil'ask. "So you mean to tell me that you just let everyone in the Galactic Alliance military and the Jedi Order know that you've captured me?"

Joil'ask looked at her as if she were dense. "Well, yes."

"And you think that none of them will make any move to try to save me?" Jaina asked. "You think my _parents_ won't try to save me? You know what happened to all the Imperials who've kidnapped me and my brothers, or at least tried to, before we hit our teens? They didn't exactly end up in good places when all was said and done, if you know what I'm saying. Even if you had nothing to worry about from either the GA or the Jedi or even Jacen, which you do by the way, you're still gonna have to contend with Han and Leia Solo, who don't give as much of a crap with politics or formalities, and I don't see you havin' a bright future in that, _Captain_."

"There's a first time for everything, my dear," Joil'ask said. "Besides, even if the likes of your parents were audacious enough to try and attack my task force, I can have so many reinforcements arrive in time to not only fend them off, but destroy them if necessary."

Jaina smirked. "But again, we're talking about my parents, who defeated the Empire and the Yuuzhan Vong. I wouldn't be confident if I were you, Joil'ask."

Joil'ask growled in irritation and was about to argue further when his holocomm beeped. He looked between that and the now-curious Jaina, but didn't even bother to acknowledge his prisoner verbally as he turned his hoverchair and exited the room. One of his guards closed and locked the door on her.

Out in the corridor of the _Vindicator_'s brig, Joil'ask moved his chair further down the corridor so that he was out of earshot of Jaina or any of the other prisoners here. Only then did he finally activate the holocomm and found Iraine's furious gaze staring back at him.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" the informant practically shrieked. "Do you even know why it took me this long to contact you! The GA investigation parties on Bothawui were only now ceasing, and you go and make that announcement! Now the investigations have been renewed, and I'm taking too much of a risk just contacting you!"

"And you've contacted me to basically call me an idiot for making this decision that's probably the best chance we'll have at finding Zonama Sekot?" Joil'ask inquired.

"Not only that, but also to ask what the hell were you thinking after the Chiss have already revealed where the living planet is!" Iraine added angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Joil'ask asked.

Iraine sighed in irritation. "This is what I'm talking about, Captain Joil'ask."

A moment later, the informant's visage was replaced by that of an elderly male Chiss; Joil'ask saw that it was a recorded broadcast, and that the time stamp was while he had been dealing with Jaina.

At least that explains why Joil'ask wasn't hearing about this until now.

"To all who maybe concerned about the whereabouts of Zonama Sekot," the recorded Chiss said, "first allow me to introduce myself: I am Aristocra Formbi, head Aristocra of the Chiss Ascendancy, and I am making this announcement on the HoloNet frequented by citizens of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and other governments to make this statement: the living world of Zonama Sekot, a target by the Bothan civilization for its claim to the Yuuzhan Vong, is now a resident in the Csilla system. Any who make an attack on Sekot makes an attack on the Chiss Ascendancy itself, and such attackers will be deemed enemies of the Ascendancy. So to any and all who wish to attack Zonama Sekot for its population of Yuuzhan Vong, primarily the Bothan people, know this: If you attack it, you will be responsible for whatever war comes up between us."

The recording ended and was once again replaced by Iraine's bemused visage.

Joil'ask looked embarrassed, and rightfully so. "Well, in all fairness," he stammered, "that was while I had been capturing Jaina Solo!"

"That doesn't change the idiocy of your announcement to the galaxy, Joil'ask," Iraine said. "From this point on, you and your trio of Assault Cruisers are on your own; no one in the Bothan government can risk being associated with you now. This will be the last communication between us, Captain Derapp Joil'ask."

And without further words, Iraine signed off.

"Iraine! Iraine!" Joil'ask cried out as he tried to raise the communication again, only to find that the link had been terminated from the other end.

And once Joil'ask revealed how futile it was, he realized just how much trouble he was in.

"Sir, what do we do now?" one of his guards asked.

Gritting his fanged teeth, Joil'ask turned his hoverchair around to address the guard.

"We go to the Csilla system and we fight to the last trooper to do what damage we can to Zonama Sekot and its Vong," Joil'ask proclaimed.

Both guards with him looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Do either of you have a problem with that?" Joil'ask inquired formally.

The guards stood resolute and they simultaneously answered, "No, sir."

"Good," Joil'ask said before turning to head for the _Vindicator_'s bridge.

"But what about Jaina Solo?" the same guard who asked what they were going to do asked.

Joil'ask turned back again. "She can be insurance that whoever comes after us doesn't outright destroy us at this point; at least until we do everything we can to strike some kind of blow to the Vong."

Minutes arriving on the bridge, and subsequently making the same announcement of going to Csilla to attack Zonama Sekot to the rest of his task force, Joil'ask received unified responses of gladly following him to the bitter end.

And with that, his task force launched into hyperspace for Csilla.


	39. Chapter 39

Following his first drop out of hyperspace from the Aing-Tii homeworld, Jacen found several messages on his ship's comm; they were by Tenel Ka, Aunt Mara... and his parents, surprisingly.

He looked through them all, and they all brought to his attention the announcement that Derapp Joil'ask made throughout the HoloNet, in which he was holding Jaina hostage and demanded that Jacen contact and meet with him through the provided hypercomm frequency to talk about locating Zonama Sekot. Anyone else who tried to contact the frequency would be automatically shut out for security purposes.

And, of course, each message also brought Jacen's attention to the announcement that Aristocra Formbi of the Chiss Ascendancy made prior to Joil'ask's announcement, which was about Sekot's protection in the Csilla system. Jacen noted that Han and Leia's messages lacked emotion, at least on the surface of their expressions; they gave their messages to their son as if they were talking to some formal diplomat. He wondered why they even bothered to comm him if they still obviously disowned him.

Jacen was puzzled over Joil'ask's decision; why would the Bothan make this announcement after what Formbi told the rest of the galaxy?

Regardless of that question, Jacen felt that it was imperative to contact Joil'ask anyway, if for Jaina's sake, before he even talked to his parents, as much as he wanted to. So he dialed in the provided hypercomm frequency and waited for a while before Joil'ask's visage appeared over the holographic display.

"Captain Joil'ask," Jacen said before the Bothan could say anything himself, "I'm not one who's comfortable with making threats anymore than I am in blowing ships up by myself." He put in a little threat that he didn't much like in his tone. "But if you hurt my sister in any way, you'll end up exactly as Commander Reh'mwa and his forces."

"Dare to come after me, Solo," Joil'ask countered, "and I promise that your sister will die."

"I thought you wanted my help," Jacen said as he crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring Joil'ask's threat, "or did you finally hear what Aristocra Formbi had to say?"

Joil'ask growled. "If you stay out of our way, then I will leave Jaina off on some breathable planet somewhere for you to go and pick her up, and you can leave my forces and me alone. Otherwise, I will have your twin executed on the spot if you or anyone else tries anything funny."

"_And_ what's to stop my parents from coming after you for killing their daughter?" Jacen pointed out.

Joil'ask didn't even hiss before he shut off and terminated the connection with Jacen.

So Joil'ask was either too stupid or too daring enough to go after Zonama Sekot, which was now in Chiss territory, all while holding Jaina hostage. Jacen liked to think that, typical of Bothans, Joil'ask was most likely daring, but after what Formbi said, which was _before_ Joil'ask made his own announcement, Jacen was starting to think that maybe it was both with the Bothan captain. And that was especially after the Combined Clans on Bothawui had officially renounced any ties with Joil'ask, most likely to avoid whatever suspicion that the Galactic Alliance would put on them in their species' continued _ar'krai_ on the Yuuzhan Vong, which meant that Joil'ask was on his own with his trio of Assault Cruisers and the crews that were still aboard each of them.

But Joil'ask did have that hostage card that he could play; and given that Jaina was on romantic terms with Chiss-raised human pilot Jagged Fel, whose family had quite a bit of influence in the Ascendancy, Jacen could see how and why the Ascendancy wouldn't want to outright destroy Joil'ask's Assault Cruiser, at least. And since Joil'ask threatened to kill Jaina if anyone tried "anything funny" as the captain said, Jacen suspected that launching a rescue mission for her constituted as "something funny;" then again, Joil'ask might threaten Jaina's life if Csilla's defensive Star Destroyers tried to take on any of the Assault Cruisers in their attack on Zonama Sekot.

However, Jacen also doubted that the Ascendancy might place Jaina's life on so high a pedestal, even for Jag and his family; they might simply allow Joil'ask to execute her before destroying Joil'ask and his fleet before they could ever destroy an acre of Zonama's surface, and subsequently mark Jaina as collateral damage.

And let's not forget about the GA and Jedi forces who actually knew where Csilla was...

Now it was more imperative than ever that Jacen get to Csilla, if to save Jaina more than anything else. The question that remained, however, was this: How could he save Jaina when the Force was cut off around her? Without the Force to guide him to her, how could Jacen possibly save his sister from certain doom?

Jacen hoped that he'd find the answer once he got to the Csilla system as he dropped the _Solo Quest_ back into hyperspace.

.

Han looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel as Kenth Hamner stood between him and the _Millennium Falcon_ in its dock in the GA civilian docking bay on Denon.

"Hamner, that is my _daughter_ that Joil'ask is holding hostage," Han growled. "If you think I won't shoot you where you stand-"

"And if _you_ think that I'm simply going to allow you to give Joil'ask an excuse that would certainly doom Jaina's life," Hamner interrupted, "not to mention possibly start a war with the Chiss Ascendancy, you have another thing coming, Solo." He looked over at Leia. "The same with you, Your Majesty."

"Master Hamner," Leia started in as calm a voice as she could muster right now, "you must realize that Captain Joil'ask is bluffing; he knows that if he actually kills Jaina, then he has absolutely nothing left to protect him or his fleet from being destroyed by either the GA or the Chiss or anyone else. By keeping Jaina alive, Joil'ask knows that he may very well get out of this situation with a life sentence instead of instant death, at least."

"Which is all the more imperative that the two of you stay out of this," Hamner said in a strict tone. "It's _because_ Joil'ask knows that he's in a terrible situation that he would be desperate to do anything; can you imagine that he wouldn't kill Jaina just as a conciliatory prize for failing to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot? It can happen to desperate men like him; and your presence might very well place Jaina's life in all the more peril."

"So we're supposed to just sit here, wait for Joil'ask's attack on Zonama Sekot, and hope that he'll be gracious enough to let Jaina go when it's all over?" Han retorted.

"Which is even assuming that the Chiss don't dare attack his small fleet, by the way," Leia added.

"You know that's not how we do things, Hamner," Han continued. "Leia and me don't do that cowardly negotiate-with-terrorists kinda deal. Which is exactly what Joil'ask and his crews are, too! They've been disowned by the Combined Clans! So there is _no_ reason to treat him with the political kid gloves; we go in there, save Jaina, and kick his ass!"

"And if I were to agree with you," Hamner said, "how would you suggest that Jaina be saved? The moment that any ships drop out into the Csilla system, like the _Millennium Falcon_, Joil'ask will have her executed, as he said." He put up a hand. "And don't tell me he's simply bluffing; like I said, we can't be sure he is."

"We'll find a way," Leia said confidently, and Han nodded with her. "We always do."

Hamner shook his head. "I cannot legally allow you to leave anyway; I have been ordered by Chief Omas himself to keep the two of you specifically grounded on Denon while this is going on. So if you go against my orders, you will be criminals."

Han smirked. "Yeah. Like we haven't been used to that."

"I'm warning you," Hamner said as he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt. "Return to your home-" he activated his weapon "-_now_."

Han then laughed. "Oh, Kenth, ol' buddy, you just made the wrong decision."

Leia then unhooked and activated her own lightsaber and clashed with Hamner's.


	40. Chapter 40

Because of Leia's limited training in both the Force and lightsaber combat, she was only able to stand a few seconds of clashing sabers with the significantly more experienced Jedi Master Hamner, who managed to almost easily pin her lightsaber to the deck of the civilian docking bay before using his free hand to send Leia flying backward. Without missing a beat, Hamner then deflected the blaster shots that Han fired at him on the floor and ceiling before slashing down at the barrel of the gun, rendering Han's weapon completely useless.

But Leia had recovered from the Force-blow that Hamner sent her way and was already charging back in him even as he leveled his lightsaber up at him. Again, Hamner was able to block off each of Leia's vicious strikes.

However, just as Hamner had her lightsaber once again pinned to the deck, Leia released her hold on the weapon, allowing it to deactivate and clatter to the deck, before raising both hands up at the Jedi Master, sending a Force-wave that sent him flying upward and back to the hull of the _Millennium Falcon_ behind him.

He managed to cushion the resultant blow with the Force before collapsing prone to the deck, beneath the _Falcon_; his lightsaber, however, remained in hand and glowing, and when he finally looked up moments later, he saw that Han and Leia were already boarding the ship.

Hamner cast out a Force-wave that blew both Solos off the boarding ramp and back onto the deck of the civilian docking bay. But while Han landed painfully on his back, Leia landed in a graceful backward roll and with a challenging glare for Hamner. She then stood up to her full height and raced in for him.

But he simply smirked back at her before casting his lightsaber forward, guiding it through the air with the Force, before allowing its blade to shear through the _Falcon_'s boarding ramp right at the entrance to the ship. The entire ramp then collapsed to the deck as Hamner recalled his glowing weapon back in hand, and Leia skidded to a halt just a meter shy of the ramp.

"No!" Han yelled after standing up.

"Now there's no way you'll be able to get off this planet until you have that ramp replaced!" Hamner proclaimed.

"And what's to stop us from just stealing another ship?" Leia asked.

"The proper authorities, maybe?" Hamner answered as if he were quipping.

"Not while I'm here," Leia returned. "And since you already damaged my husband's ship..."

She trailed off as she used the Force to rip the _Falcon_'s automated belly turret from its hidden perch and sent it heading down toward Hamner.

The Jedi Master leaped out of the way before the turret shattered into various spare parts along the deck, but Leia once again used the Force to fling the tiny parts right at Hamner. They battered away at him, and he was too distracted to protect himself with the Force, and his lightsaber slashes became ineffective against the onslaught, until the stream stopped.

And by then, Leia had already swooped in and cut Hamner's lightsaber off by the top of the hilt.

She then leveled the tip of her blade up beneath his chin.

"Impressive," Hamner couldn't help but say. "You compensated for your lack of combat experience with inventiveness, even at the cost of one of your husband's ship's parts."

"They can be replaced," Leia pointed out. "The _Falcon_'s got so many replacement parts, it's questionable if she's even the same ship she started out as."

"I doubt you'll be replacing either the boarding ramp or that turret anytime soon, though," Hamner said as Han trotted up next to his wife. "After going against my orders, engaging me in combat, and now threatening my life like this, neither of you will come out of this as innocents, no matter what your reputation as-"

In spite of Hamner's Jedi reflexes, even he was unable to dodge the butt-end of Han's slagged pistol, thrown as it was by the non-Force-sensitive's still-quick reflexes. Hamner recoiled from the blow to his forehead, but before he could recover, Leia stomped him in the sternum, doubling him over, and then she finally knocked him unconscious by smacking the butt-end of lightsaber's against the back of his skull.

"Now we gotta find a new ship," Leia remarked as she looked at the fallen boarding ramp.

"No kidding," Han replied. "But I don't care if you're my wife, you're getting the replacement to the turret when this is all over."

Normally, Leia would have regarded her husband with a bemused look; as it was, what with the circumstances they were now facing, she only nodded at him and they scrambled away to see if they could steal any ships.

.

Joil'ask grinned as the seconds ticked by before the _Vindicator_, _Fury_, and _Vengeful_ were to drop out into the Csilla system; he had had Jaina Solo in her cell on her knees, shackled by wrists and ankles via stuncuffs, with one of the _Vindicator_'s private troopers aiming his blaster at the back of her head. At the push of the small signaling device attached to his military uniform's collar, Joil'ask could send a signal that not even a jamming device from enemy parties would be able to interrupt to the officer pointing that blaster at the back of Jaina's head. That signal would thus wordlessly tell the officer to pull the trigger and end her life.

If the Chiss Ascendancy decided that Jaina's life wasn't worth Zonama Sekot, then Joil'ask would at least have the pleasure of knowing that he would strike a blow to Jacen's heart for the destruction of Commander Reh'mwa and his fleet.

Finally, Joil'ask's trio of Assault Cruisers dropped out into hyperspace, well over the scarred green world of Zonama Sekot, which was now guarded by three Star Destroyers; one to fight each Cruiser, it seemed.

"Sir, we're being hailed," Joil'ask was informed by his comm officer.

"Let's entertain them," he replied with a nod.

A holographic representation of a male Chiss admiral appeared on Joil'ask's holoprojector, this one coming from the hoverchair that the Bothan now commanded from; he had his commanding chair taken out, now that his hoverchair seated him more than well enough.

"Captain Joil'ask, I am Admiral Sifady. I am sure you understand the Chiss custom of not attacking our enemy if they have not attacked us first?"

"I'm quite aware of it, Admiral," Joil'ask replied in a bemused tone.

"Then you and your trio of Assault Cruisers still have a chance to turn back now," Sifady informed him, "and, of course, release Jaina Solo into the custody of the Fel family."

"Thank you for offering me that chance, Admiral," Joil'ask replied sarcastically, "but tell me, just how much is Jaina Solo's life worth to your government?"

Sifady hesitated in his response. "Not enough to prevent us from stopping you in your planned attack on Zonama Sekot."

Joil'ask grimaced. It looked like he would be coming away with the conciliatory prize after all.

"Very well," he said before opening communications with the rest of his small fleet. "All forces, attack the planet!"

As one, the _Vindicator_, _Fury_, and _Vengeful_ opened their turbolasers in differing directions, both at the Chiss Star Destroyers ahead and at the areas of Zonama Sekot they weren't covering. And as soon as the Bothans' lasers hit the Destroyers' energy shields, the Chiss capital ships opened up with their own salvos.

Not taking his eyes away from any of this, Joil'ask - knowing that if Sifady thought it necessary, the Chiss admiral could just as well contact reinforcements that he could bring to his disposal, something that Joil'ask sorely lacked - reached for the signaling device on his collar.

"Sir, another ship has just come out of hyperspace behind us!" the sensors officer announced.

Joil'ask quickly retracted his hand from the still-unactivated signalling device and waited for the sensors officer's guaranteed followup report.

"It's the _Solo Quest_, sir!"

Joil'ask grinned. "Hail her; and connect Solo to his sister's cell feed."

.

Still unsure as to what exactly he could do - as Jaina could be dead already and he wouldn't be aware of it - Jacen felt nothing but nervousness and anxiety when he saw that the _Quest_ was being hailed. And this was even while a battle between Joil'ask's Assault Cruiser trio and the Chiss Star Destroyer trio guarding Zonama Sekot was raging.

Hesitantly, but eventually, Jacen activated the hail, and he found two moving holographic images: Joil'ask's blue-tinted visage and Jaina, on her knees, shackled by stuncuffs, wrists and ankles bound behind her, while a Bothan pointed a blaster rifle at the back of her head.

"Hello, Jacen," Joil'ask greeted him with a mocking smile. "I see that you've come to watch your sister die. You know, I was just about to kill her right before you dropped out; can you believe that? Then I would have missed the look of shock and grief on your face! Thank you for making this moment all the more pleasurable; I may not be able to carry out my people's _ar'krai_, but I can still make you hurt for what you did to Commander Reh'mwa's forces, and just for protecting _Vong_ in general."

"Wait!" Jacen cried as Joil'ask reached for the signalling device.

The Bothan captain chuckled. "Oh, do entertain me, please. Watching you beg makes this all the more worth it." His mocking tone and expression darkened to one of pure maliciousness. "It's what you deserve to earn an _ar'krai_ from _me_ personally, Solo."

"Let's make a deal, Joil'ask," Jacen said.

"I'm in no mood for deals, you Vong-lovin' scum. There were only two things that I wanted: to wipe out the Vong, and then to see you suffer for your support of them, and you took the first from me. At this point, making you suffer is possibly the one thing I can truly hope to accomplish now."

"If you want me to suffer, Joil'ask, then take me instead!" Jacen said. "Let my sister go! You wanna hurt me, you can torture me all you like!"

This time, Joil'ask hissed in laughter as if he were a Barabel instead of a Bothan. "Oh, I know about what you had to go through while you were under Vong captivity; perhaps not all the details, but I know that you had been tortured and brainwashed by them. And, by the way, for you to defend them even after all they did to you makes me even more disgusted of you, Solo. So for you to offer yourself to me, I know that for all the torture I could make you go through, it could never amount to the torture that the _Vong_ made you go through.

"But even if you hadn't gone through Vong torture, Solo, I know you wouldn't truly suffer, and you know why? Because you'll have saved your sister, and for whatever I could possibly do to you, it would never rob you of the satisfaction that you were able to save your twin. No, this has to be it; I will take your sister from you, and I will die knowing that you will spend the rest of your life knowing that you saved your sister for _Vong_."

"No!" Jacen screamed as he reached out through the Force, touching the repressing void offered by the ysalamir, or ysalamiri, surrounding Jaina.

"Yes!" Joil'ask mocked; only he seemed to be acting more manic, as if he were a man laughing at how he himself had lost all hope. "Scream for me, Solo! Scream! For all that you've done to _me_!" And then the Bothan, without any further hesitation, activated the signalling device.

But Jacen had not been listening to Joil'ask as the maddened Bothan was mocking him; he touched the Force-repressing void and, using the Force as a tool as he had intended when he last left the Aing-Tii, sought out the spectrum of the Force wherein the Aing-Tii existed outside it. He didn't know how he could do it; it wasn't something that Tadar'Ro ever taught him, yet in a moment of desperation, for a maddening rush to save his sister, Jacen managed to seek it out and grab onto the void.

And when he did, he sought out, as if by instinct, the other ysalamiri Force-voids on all three of the Assault Cruisers.

Then, with a simple thought, he snuffed out all of the voids, in the process killing all of the ysalamiri that were projecting them.

From there, Jacen slumped in his seat, feeling absolutely numb from murdering a helpless animal.

.

Jaina didn't know what happened, but in a mere two seconds, she felt reconnected to the Force. At the end of those two seconds, the beep on her Bothan captor's collar behind her alerted her that it was time for her to die.

So she used the Force to rip the stuncuffs away from her wrists and ankles before twisting her body around to land flat on her back along her cell's deck. Simultaneously, she shoved both hands out and sent her captor flying to the ceiling, where his executing laser bolt went wild to scorch the deck just a few inches from Jaina's head.

The Bothan hit the ceiling by his head and collapsed back to the deck, a meter from Jaina, unconscious.

Rolling backward and onto her feet, Jaina twirled around and used the Force again to blow out the door to her cell. She then rushed out and headed in the direction of where she sensed her lightsaber to be stored.

The warden, who had turned to respond to what he heard when the cell door was blown out and open, wordlessly leveled his blaster rifle up at Jaina. But she had already used the Force to flick the barrel of his gun up beneath his chin, and just as he pulled the trigger. He flew back, his head covered in smoke, dead, and Jaina continued on her way.

.

"What?! What just happened?!" Joil'ask demanded to know to no one in particular. He had just seen what had happened in Jaina's cell, and he was thus completely oblivious to the expressionless look on Jacen's face through the holographic transmission to the _Solo Quest_.

After a hurried moment, during which the _Vindicator_ took another rocking hit from the salvos of one of the Chiss Star Destroyers, Joil'ask's sensors officer returned with, "The ysalamir projecting the Force-void out to within her cell is dead, sir! In fact, all of the ysalamiri aboard the _Vindicator_, _Fury_, and _Vengeful_ are all dead!"

"How could this possibly happen like this?!" Joil'ask practically screamed. He had to breathe a few times before he finally returned his attention to Jacen, and he lowered his register to a threatening growl. "You did this, didn't you, Solo?! How could you have possibly done this?! What are you?! WHAT ARE YOU?!"

"Joil'ask," Jacen said, his tone completely vacant of any and all emotion, "you won."

Then the transmission was cut off by the human.

At that moment, Joil'ask thought of hailing Jacen again, only to think better of it; right now, he had better things to do, such as at least attempting to survive the battle against the Ascendancy's Destroyers while also finding a way to kill Jaina; and never did he ever think that what Jacen's last words to him were true.

"I want all officers available to hunt down Jaina Solo and kill her!" he ordered to no one specifically.

.

As she did with the warden, Jaina used the Force to lift the barrels of the two blaster rifles aimed at her so that they fired beneath the chins of their wielders, killing them instantly. She then hurried past their smoking corpses to the _Vindicator_'s storage room, where she quickly retrieved her lightsaber from the Assault Cruiser's confiscated material. Jaina activated her weapon just to make sure it still worked, and found that it did.

And she used its power to expertly deflect the blaster bolts that were subsequently fired at her by Bothan troops as soon as she stepped out of the storage room. The bolts that weren't deflected to scorch the deck, walls, and ceiling hit the troops that fired the lasers, ending their lives.

Once she was done dispatching the troops that were sent just outside the storage room, she looked for an emergency stairway that would lead her to the _Vindicator_'s bridge; taking a turbolift was possibly the worst idea to get there, even if a regular stairway would take more time. She had to get to Joil'ask and end this one way or another.

Jaina found an emergency stairway after a few turns in the corridors ahead, during which she deflected the laser bolts of the enemy troops who fired them back at them, and then she slashed down the door. She then looked up and began ascending the stairway level by level via Force-assisted leaps; and even then, useless Bothan troops tried to shoot her down. Naturally, she dealt with them as she went.

Finally, she ended up on the level of the bridge, where she used the Force to blow open the door and onto the deck of where Joil'ask commanded his ship. Already, everyone there, including the paraplegic captain himself, were firing their blasters at Jaina.

Ten seconds later, after everyone was either dead or wounded, Jaina strolled up to Joil'ask, who had taken a bolt to the shoulder and was now recoiling from the cauterizing wound. She leveled the tip of her blade down beneath his neck.

"Call off the rest of your troops from hunting me, Joil'ask," she demanded, "and stop your attack on Zonama Sekot; you might get to live after this."

Joil'ask then laughed as he looked back between Jaina and the lightsaber blade; then the laugh turned into one of complete lunacy, the laugh of someone who had lost everything, including all hope.

"You stupid bitch," he condescended, "I gave up hoping for a continued life just a short while ago."

Joil'ask continued laughing even as Jaina saw a wounded Bothan bridge officer, the sensors officer, rise up from his station and charge at her.

And it was then that her danger sense spiked, the danger coming from Joil'ask himself, who had just pushed a button the right arm of his chair; a self-destruct button, Jaina realized in that instant.

In lieu of cutting him down, Jaina deactivated her weapon but kept it in hand as she let the sensors officer tackle her; as that occurred, she twisted so that he took the brunt of the self-detonating explosion that came from Joil'ask's hoverchair.

The explosion that obliterated Joil'ask's chair, as well as Joil'ask himself, sent a sizable shock wave that threw Jaina back several meters, with the sensors officer who tackled her coming along.

When Jaina landed on her back, she found that the sensors officer had somehow ended up on his left side along her body, most likely from the quick twist that Jaina executed; she then pushed the dead Bothan off of her and regarded him briefly. She saw that the entire right half of him had been burned away, and there was no life remaining in what could be considered his good eye.

By the time she stood up and saw that all that remained of Joil'ask's hoverchair was a giant scorch mark in the midst of the bridge's deck; there was nothing left of the Bothan himself, and Jaina, having sensed his Force-presence flicker out into nothingness when the explosion occurred, knew that to be true.

When Jaina finally stood up, she nearly stumbled back to the deck again as the _Vindicator_ took more hits from the Chiss Star Destroyers out over Zonama Sekot. She stopped and regarded the Bothan troops who then rushed in, each party of them carrying a datapad that Jaina knew had her life signature as it was being detected by the _Vindicator_'s internal sensors.

But all of the Bothan troops diverted their attention from Jaina to the rest of the bridge and saw the giant scorch mark made by Joil'ask's self-detonating hoverchair.

One of them finally looked back at Jaina and asked, "Was that the captain?"

Jaina nodded. "He decided to take the easy way out," she said grimly.

The troop who addressed her then headed to the comm station, which remained intact given what had happened thanks to Jaina's actions along the bridge.

"Chiss Star Destroyers," the troop said, "I am Troop Commander Gety'lye. Captain Joil'ask is dead; I am his second-in-command, which makes me the one in charge now. And I am contacting you to let you know: we, the Bothans of his fleet, surrender."

Admiral Sifady's voice replied. "Acknowledged, Commander Gety'lye."

And with that, both sides ceased fire.


	41. Chapter 41

The fight with Hamner had given Han and Leia quite a bit of unwanted attention in the civilian docking bay, so what anonymity that they could have had in hijacking a ship to leave Denon was completely gone. Still, they both knew that they would have attracted attention anyway, so either way, they were winging it from here on.

They rushed to an A-class bulk freighter that had its boarding ramp down, and while a burly Aqualish male was pushing a hovercart with an unmarked container on it up the ramp. Leia used the Force to throw the poor Aqualish off the ramp, along with the hovercart and the container on it. From there, she and her husband hopped on top of the ramp and hurried the rest of the way up aboard.

As Han rushed to the cockpit, Leia stayed at the back and manually closed and sealed the ramp back up, and just as the angered Aqualish came into view, only to be cut off from sight once the ramp was up and locked.

Not much later, Han had the freighter's engines running and blasted the ship out through the open exit of the civilian docking bay above. From there, they encountered no further problems until they reached space.

"You are not cleared for departure from the system," the authoritative female voice from the other end of the resultant transmission informed Han. Even as she told him this, a trio of X-wings from one of Denon's Orbital Control facilities began rocketing toward the bulk freighter. "Please allow the escort that has been sent in your direction to lead you back down to the planet."

"Yeah, right," Han replied without responding to the frequency.

He then spun the freighter around and activated the automatic release that allowed the containers carried by the ship to rocket out into space, traveling toward the X-wing trio.

Each starfighter was hit by at least one of the containers, and all of the metal boxes that impacted against the X-wings exploded to reveal fine powder of illegal spice.

Neither Han nor Leia were able to see that it was spice that the former ejected, nor did that fact show up on the freighter's sensors, but had they seen it, they would have felt a lot better about hijacking this ship than they did now.

Nevertheless, the decreased weight that the freighter was now responsible for allowed it more speed, which allowed it to gradually outrun the stunned X-wings.

"Here we go," Han said before pulling back on the hyperdrive lever, allowing the freighter to go into lightspeed for the Unknown Regions.

And neither of them were aware of the changed circumstances in the Csilla system... nor were they aware just how much trouble they were really in.

.

A day had passed since the end of the battle between Zonama Sekot's trio of Star Destroyers and the late Captain Derapp Joil'ask's trio of Bothan Assault Cruisers. The Bothans who were once under Joil'ask's command, and who were still alive, were all placed under arrest by the Chiss Ascendancy, where they were to be judged for their trespassing and subsequent attack on their territory. As for the Assault Cruisers themselves, they were guided via autopilot by the Star Destroyers who fought them over Zonama Sekot and taken to burn up into nothingness by Csilla's sun.

And since Joil'ask's Bothans had been disowned by their government, Aristocra Formbi, along with many other Chiss on Csilla and throughout all the other Chiss colonies in the Unknown Regions, was grateful that he could still get a good night's sleep knowing that an attack from within the mainstream galaxy wasn't imminent.

But not all had been resolved from the tension with the Bothans; there was still one matter that Jaina Solo, newly released from her captivity under Joil'ask, had to attend to.

"Thanks for coming with me on this, Jag," Jaina told her boyfriend, "but I think I'll need to be alone with Jacen on this."

Jag, who was seated in the pilot seat, nodded. "I understand."

Jaina gave him a sly grin. "Of course you do."

She then gave him a peck on the cheek before standing up from the Chiss shuttle's copilot seat and heading to where the shuttle had docked with the _Solo Quest_'s airlock. After boarding the YT, Jaina went and searched for her twin brother, for whom she was worried since she still couldn't find him in their twin bond.

A few minutes later, though, she found him in his closed but unlocked cabin, and she froze when she saw what he was doing to himself.

Jacen, seated in the far corner of his room, was murmuring to himself incoherently as he was using a vibroblade to cut up small little cauterized notches along his left arm; his expression was one of loss, the same expression of loss that he had when Uncle Luke died.

"Jacen, what are you doing?!" Jaina reacted as she used the Force to call the vibroblade away from her brother's hand.

He looked up quickly as the blade flew into Jaina's grasp, and he cried, "No! It's not done yet! It's not done!" And he actually cried as he crawled on his hands and knees toward his sister.

"Jacen, you need to calm down right now!" Jaina urged as she stuffed the vibroblade into a spare pocket on her belt.

"It's not done! It's not done!" Jacen repeated hysterically as he clawed at the pocket.

Jaina grabbed her brother's wrists - which, thankfully, lacked any scars, bloodied or cauterized - and stopped him as she knelt down to his level.

"Jacen, you're not making any sense! Tell me, what's not done?!"

Jacen went silent for a moment before he broke down into so many tearful sobs that he collapsed against his sister, who held him up in spite of his weight.

"They were for the ysalamiri, Jaina! For the ysalamiri!" He trailed off into more crying.

Jaina allowed herself to fall to her hindquarters as she embraced her weeping brother. She knew that it would be a long time before he would recover, so she didn't bother to ask him anymore questions. Still, she wondered what he was talking about with the ysalamiri.

Ysalamiri... then Jaina remembered that Joil'ask's Assault Cruisers were guided toward Csilla's sun. Had they had the ysalamiri when that happened? Was that why her brother was being this way?

Eventually, after Jacen finally fell asleep from his weeping, Jaina commed her boyfriend.

"Jag?"

"Yeah?"

"When those Assault Cruisers were sent to the sun, were they scanned for any lifeforms before that?"

"Of course they were; it's proper procedure among the Chiss," Jag answered. "They were even searched via physical search parties."

"Were there any ysalamiri found aboard any of those Cruisers?" Jaina asked.

"A total of thirty-six, an even of twelve aboard each; all of them were already dead by the times that the searches were commenced."

"What did they die from, do you know?"

"All of the reports I read basically said that the causes were unknown," Jag answered.

"I see," Jaina said in a contemplating tone. "I'll comm you back to let you know when I'm ready to go."

"Got it."

After Jaina deactivated her commlink and replaced it, she nearly jumped when she saw her brother, awake again, staring back at her with widened eyes.

He then pulled up both sleeves, showing his sister the scars that he had. Jaina saw that the left arm, which she stopped Jacen from cutting any further, had at most three quarters of the cauterized notches than the right one did.

"Each scar," Jacen explained in a grim and subdued tone, "is for all the ysalamiri that I killed, Jaina."

"Killed?" Jaina asked in disbelief. "What are you talking about? How could you have been able to do it? They block off the Force-"

"They don't block off all the Force!" Jacen shouted. "I went into the Aing-Tii aspect of the Force where it doesn't exist; where the ysalamiri live, Jaina! And I used it to kill every single ysalamiri aboard _for you_!"

Jaina was stunned speechless under Jacen's accusing glare. He was making her feel as if she were the one who reached out to kill all those ysalamiri, and Jaina didn't blame him.

Jacen was always someone who loved animals as a child. Where Jaina had been fond of starships and advanced mechanics in her preteens, Jacen had nothing but adoration for beings who were lower on the evolutionary food chain at the same age. So for him to have murdered ysalamiri, innocent animals who had no understanding of the world around them beyond the absolutely basic, so that Jaina, one of the people who disowned him, must have eaten away at him, must have torn at his sanity in a way that Vergere and the Yuuzhan Vong's torture never could.

"Oh, Jacen," Jaina said, finally realizing what her brother must have been going through, "I'm so sorry."

He pulled away from her, out of her embrace. "You should be," he said. "I want you to leave. Now."

"Jacen, we can work through this-"

"Get out."

"Jacen, I-"

"Get out!" he shouted. "I don't ever wanna see you again!"

Stunned by her brother's demand - by the pronouncement that he was turning the tables on her, that, this time, he was disowning _her_ \- Jaina turned and left the room before leaving the _Quest_.

By the time she returned to the Chiss shuttle and placed herself back in the copilot seat, her eyes were rimmed with tears.

"What happened?" Jag asked in concern.

"Just take us away from here, Jag," she said, her voice wavering.

He knew not to ask any further questions; so he turned back to the shuttle's control console, closed and sealed up both airlocks - the shuttle's and the _Quest_'s - before taking the shuttle back to Csilla.

And back aboard the _Quest_, Jacen had taken out a spare vibroblade from his pocket - the one that he temporarily forgot he had when Jaina took the first one from him - and resumed the cuts on his left arm until he had a total of thirty-six on both arms.

Then he broke down sobbing again, harder than he did when he was in Jaina's arms.


	42. Chapter 42

In spite of the Bothan Combined Clans formally disowning Captain Derapp Joil'ask and the crews of his Assault Cruisers, the leading members of the clans who were known, both officially and unofficially, to have associated with Joil'ask and his crews were placed under special scrutiny by the Galactic Alliance teams who investigated them.

Yes, they were already placed under special scrutiny after the report delivered to Kenth Hamner by Mara Jade Skywalker, but following Joil'ask's public announcement regarding his quest to finish off the Yuuzhan Vong, Chief of State Cal Omas ordered those investigative teams to double their efforts.

And surely enough, right around the same time that Joil'ask's doomed attempt to attack Zonama Sekot failed as it inevitably had, those Bothan clan members who were suspected of continuing to support the _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong were found to have evidence against them; there were financial accounts, military assignments, and even off-the-record commlink conversations between Joil'ask and those certain clan members that were thought to have been destroyed, all of which revealed their involvement with with Joil'ask, Commander Reh'mwa, and those under their commands had set out to do.

But, of course, public outcry over the fates of the several highly-placed clan members came from Bothan civilians in the streets of Bothawui... especially since the majority of the population did support the _ar'krai_.

Out in the streets surrounding Bothawui's primary prison, the Borsk Fey'lya Correctional Institute, mobs of angered Bothans had taken to protesting loudly, with signs, both holographic and flimsiplast, vouching for the release of the imprisoned Combined Clans members. Some even vouched for the continuation of the _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong.

For the sake of security around the prison's exterior, security details of mixed Galactic Alliance and Bothan planetary military guards made sure that the mobs before them wouldn't get anymore violent than they already were.

But from his vantage point from his apartment window, retired GA Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey looked down on the scene with great apprehension; he still remembered the Caamas Document Crisis and how mobs of non-Bothans had harassed Bothan establishments on Bothawui and other worlds within the New Republic's jurisdiction. It brought him back to his brief conversation with his pompous replacement as Supreme Commander, Nek Bwua'tu, where the events surrounding the Caamas Document mirrored the state of Bothawui as it did now, with ships of the mainstream galactic government - then the New Republic, now the Galactic Alliance - in orbit over the planet even as people down on the surface were about to break out into chaos.

Now the tables had turned; even though the Bothans weren't facing as much unofficial discrimination - in fact, many in the galaxy believed that the Bothans were in the right for wanting to wipe out the Yuuzhan Vong for all they did - tensions on Bothawui were getting tighter because of all that happened lately. And Kre'fey feared that the protest that was sparked because of the postwar _ar'krai_ revelations to the galaxy would create yet another crisis that the Galactic Alliance had to face; and so soon after the Vong had ceased to be a problem for anyone but themselves and those they lived with on Zonama Sekot.

And all it would take down in that crowd would be for at least one person to start shooting at the other side...

As if responding to Kre'fey's thoughts, something worse happened. Off in the distance, the Galactic Alliance Embassy, which was several miles away from the Borsk Fey'lya Correctional Institute, suddenly blew up, cutting off the protests of the crowd below and around the prison. As well, everything else within Kre'fey's line of sight stopped doing what they were doing to regard the smoking flames in the distance with horror.

Then, soaring from the ruins of the embassy, were a series of airspeeders and speeder bikes, which stopped and hovered over the crowd surrounding the prison on Kre'fey's side.

From the back of one of the airspeeders, a brown-furred male Bothan with a wild-eyed expression stood up from his seat and brought up a loudspeaker in front of his mouth.

And even before that particular Bothan introduced himself to the crowd below, Kre'fey's eyes widened when his eyes adjusted to identify the figure.

"I am Trusk Fey'lya of the True Victory Party!" Kre'fey's distant cousin proclaimed through the loudspeaker. "Yes, I am a relative of Borsk Fey'lya, from whom this _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong originated! And I am here above all of you to simply announce that we will not stand by in support of the Galactic Alliance as they protect the Vong from the fate that they deserve! I am here to announce to all of you that the GA will not imprison any of our leaders for doing what is right!

"The Vong must be exterminated, whether they continue to serve as a threat or not! And it has become something that extends beyond my cousin's demise! This is for Commander Reh'mwa, Captain Joil'ask, and for all the other Bothans who have died by the hands of either the Vong or the Galactic Alliance! So I urge all of you to stand up for what must be done and-"

Before Trusk could finish, the sound of a laser bolt was heard, and the Bothan's speech was cut short as the airspeeder that he was in began to sail wildly down to the crowd below. He lost his loudspeaker as the speeder descended out of the control of its pilot, and the crowd hurriedly parted away to avoid getting killed by the imminent crash.

But the speeder's descent was so erratic and unpredictable that it inevitably slammed against a few shrieking Bothans, killing them instantly before the object of their death exploded, taking the life of Trusk and the supporters who were with him in that vehicle.

And once the shock of the crash and explosion subsided, everyone looked to one of the GA guards; a tall, broad-shouldered light-skinned male human whose blaster rifle was now aiming at the Bothan crowd in a threatening rather than protective gesture.

He was the shooter, Kre'fey realized. He was the one who killed Trusk and all those other Bothans.

And that was only confirmed as he began shooting into the crowd, murdering innocent Bothans who began to scramble away in panic, dropping their signs and whatnot in the pandemonium that followed. And even as the human did it, he was screaming maniacally; and if one could look closely enough, one could find that he was screaming with tears flowing from his eyes, his thoughts more on his beloved, whom he was sure died when the GA Embassy blew up, as she had worked there for her shift today.

Not long after the human started shooting, his Bothan counterpart finally took action and aimed at his friend's head, putting a laser into his left temple. The human guard's murderous spree ended before his body even collapsed to the ground.

But it was too late. Now, because of that crazed guard's vengeful actions, he would start a major crisis between the GA and the Bothans that could lead to an all-out war between the two governments, Kre'fey thought.

And his head was bowed before the window from which he witnessed this sparking event as he made a vow to himself: he would help his people, no matter what. It didn't matter if Trusk was in the wrong for blowing up the GA Embassy; he was still Kre'fey's beloved cousin, and Kre'fey would fight to not only avenge him, but also to see that whatever the GA did in retaliation for what stemmed from Trusk's actions, he, Kre'fey, would be there to help his people through it.

Even if that meant fighting against the Alliance itself.

.

The last Nightsister who was alive attempted to form a fireball through the Force even as she lay severely wounded on the loamy ground. But Saba swiped her lightsaber through her downed opponent's hands, canceling the fireball and causing the dark Witch to scream in agony. Saba then put the Nightsister out of her misery by running her lightsaber through the other woman's throat.

The Barabel Jedi Master then looked around and regarded the carnage of the Nightsister camp that she and her remaining Wild Knights had been responsible for; ever since that one encounter that they had with Kirana Ti, there haven't been anymore losses on Saba's side thankfully. She only hoped that would remain for the rest of their Nightsister hunt across Dathomir.

Saba was about to address her Knights when they all looked up to find a Blastboat soaring through the sky before descending down toward their position. Saba sensed the Jedi who were aboard through the Force.

Fellow Jedi Master Tresina Lobi and about half a dozen Jedi Knights.

When the Blastboat finally settled down near the site that the Wild Knights had taken from their dead Nightsister foes, Saba walked up to the ship and waited before its boarding ramp descended to the ground.

After Master Lobi and her half-dozen Knights had reached the ground, she traded bows with Saba.

"Greetings, Master Sebatyne," Lobi said in the most formal and polite manner possible. Saba always thought her to be among the most sensitive of the New Jedi Order; Lobi had a compassionate disposition that was as Jedi-like as Saba's predatory instincts marked her to be a true hunter from Barab I.

"Greetingz, Master Lobi," Saba returned, matching her fellow Master's tone. "It iz great to see you, but may I ask why you and these Knights are here with you? You gave no commlink call or indication that you would be arriving, or what for."

"I was about to explain just that," Lobi said. "I have been assigned by Master Hamner to instruct you to return to your starfighters and head back to Denon to wait for further assignments."

Saba looked back at Lobi in curiosity. "But we have not yet finished our job of hunting down Nightsisterz. And none of their remaining clanz have agreed to turn themselvez in to either Jedi or GA forces for questioning or imprizonment. And why didn't you or Master Hamner contact me about this to begin with?"

"My Knights and I will handle the rest of your work here, Master," Lobi started. "As well, Master Hamner did not feel the need to inform you of this change as he did not want to disrupt what work you would still be doing before I arrived."

Saba shrugged. "He could have simply left a message on my commlink letting me know to contact him, or simply told me that you would be arriving to take my place."

Lobi nodded in acknowledgement. "Perhaps. But regardless, you and your Wild Knights are to return to your starfighters immediately, Master Sebatyne. I can have Jedi Sarkin-Tainer here escort all of you back to where you landed your ships via the Blastboat."

Tyria Sarkin-Tainer nodded and bowed formally to Saba.

Saba acknowledged the human with a polite nod before returning her attention back to Lobi. "If you say so, Master Lobi. But before I comply, I have to ask: What are you not telling me?"

Lobi's eyebrows lifted. "I beg your pardon?"

"You are keeping something from me," Saba stated. "I can feel it in your Force-aura. And I want to know what."

Lobi sighed. "Listen, Master Sebatyne, I really do not wish to talk to you about this now. Perhaps after my Knights and I return from our mission of finishing your job here."

"Then at least tell me why Master Hamner felt the need to have us replaced for this mission," Saba insisted. "I know that we have taken some losses, but otherwize, we have been doing fine."

Lobi grimaced. "We have come here not only to finish what you started, but also to neutralize Kirana Ti ourselves."

Saba's eyes widened. "Neutralize? You mean... _kill_?"

Lobi nodded. "If she is too dangerous to be taken in alive, as your report said, then she must be put down by any means necessary."

"But we would be killing a fellow Jedi!" Saba pointed out. "Does Master Hamner not believe that Kirana Ti can be helped?"

"You spared no quarter with any of the Nightsisters that you and your team have encountered, Master Sebatyne," Lobi countered. "Master Hamner does not see any reason why the same cannot be done to Kirana Ti."

"It is wrong!" Saba argued. "Kirana Ti is one of us! She is not like a Nightsister! If you cannot leave her alone, then she can be helped. How could you, a Jedi more compassionate than I, immediately rezort to killing as the solution when this can still be rezolved peacefully?"

Lobi looked insulted. "I do what must be done for the Order, Master Sebatyne. Now, please, do as I say or-"

Saba raised a hand to make a suggestion. "Listen, let me and my Wild Knights help you and your own Knights find Kirana Ti so we may capture her alive. That way, we may bring her back to Denon together where she may seek the psychological treatment that she needs."

Lobi mulled it over. "I will contact Master Hamner and let him know of this."

Saba felt her spirits lifted as Lobi contacted Hamner...

Only for her spirits to drop when Hamner's voice returned with a resounding, "No."

"What?!" Saba replied in shock.

Lobi held up her commlink so that Hamner's voice could address Saba more clearly. "I said no, Master Sebatyne. We simply do not have the adequate resources to hold a powerful Force-user such as Kirana Ti; for one thing, we have no ysalamiri."

"Oh, so just because it's inconvenient, we sacrifice a life?" Saba replied angrily. "We cannot find some other way around this?! What a Jedi Master you're turning out to be!"

"Master Sebatyne, you will rescind that comment and-"

"I rescind nothing, ezpecially not after you didn't even bother to contact me to let me know about thiz in the first place, Kenth!" Saba shouted. "Never mind planning the death of a great Jedi such az Kirana Ti!"

"There was no need for me to contact you, Master Sebatyne," Hamner said. "You are on a need-to-know basis, and I expected Master Lobi to fill you in on all the details upon her arrival."

"We are not military, Kenth!" Saba argued. "You cannot simply have us on a need-to-know basis like we are common troopz. We are _the Jedi Order_. We are the guardians of peace and justice! To think that you can simply order us around like this is-"

"Watch yourself, Master Sebatyne," Hamner said, "or you will lose your status and privilege in the Jedi Order."

"I would prefer to lose my status and privilege in this Order," Saba said, "if it means sparing a life such as Kirana Ti's to find some other way to help her! If it means leaving what you're making into a joke, Hamner; would Master Skywalker have wanted this? After helping to redeem the likes of Darth Vader and Kyp Durron, who was responsible for the demise of an _entire planet_ and who is even now a _Jedi Master in thiz very Order_?"

"By standing in the way of the Jedi Order's business, Miss Sebatyne," Hamner said, making it clear that Saba was now no longer part of the Order, "you are committing a crime. And considering the extent of your Force-powers, a regular prison is not an option. Master Lobi."

The Chev looked regretful but unhooked and activated her lightsaber.

"Report back to me when you are done," Hamner said before signing off.


	43. Chapter 43

"Surrender now, Miss Sebatyne," Lobi said as she leveled her blue-bladed lightsaber up beneath Saba's jaw.

But with her lightning-fast reptilian reflexes, which were further enhanced by the Force, the Barabel dropped to her haunches and swiped her tail at Lobi's legs, knocking the Chev down to her back. And before Lobi even landed, Saba had already commenced three back-flips before landing in a cat-like crouch; she then sprung up to her full height and activated her own green-bladed lightsaber along with Tesar and the other remaining Wild Knights.

At the back of her mind, Saba felt a sense of justification with the weapon that she now wielded; following the destruction of her lightsaber in that attack that took out seven of her Wild Knights, she had found this lightsaber simply lying near a tree in the forest. At first, she thought it was a trap by a Nightsister party, but she found nothing in the Force or otherwise to indicate that that would be the case, not even a suspicious air that would indicate Nightsister activity through the Force.

The only thing that she could sense from this forest was that it somehow made Saba remember Kirana Ti; and she couldn't help but silently thank the rogue Jedi-Witch for giving her this spare lightsaber. However Kirana obtained or fashioned it, it was a great gift; and one that Saba would use to defend Kirana from Lobi and her Knights.

In response to the Wild Knights activating their lightsabers, Lobi's Jedi Knights activated their own laser swords even as one of them - a male Rodian named Twool - helped the Chev back up to her feet.

"Saba Sebatyne is no longer a Jedi Master in the Order," Lobi announced so that everyone in the area could hear her. "You Wild Knights, stand down."

"And let you get away with unnecessary killing?" Tesar spoke up. "None of uz would dare betray my mother!"

"Very well," Lobi said with a grimace; it was evident that she didn't want to do what she was about to do, but she knew that it was her responsibility to do it. "I have been granted the authority by Master Hamner to revoke all of your statuses in the Jedi Order; therefore, since you are all resisting, you are not only all expelled from the Jedi Order, but you are also all criminals."

"Good," Saba responded. "If being a criminal meanz helping thoze in need like Kirana Ti, then I'd rather be that than a Jedi."

Lobi frowned. "Come on, Saba; do not do this. You will be going against those you once fought alongside in the Yuuzhan Vong War."

"And you will not?" Saba replied.

Lobi's expression straightened into one of determination. "So be it. Knights, attack!"

Then she and her Knights attacked while Saba and her Wild Knights adopted battle-ready stances.

Slightly outnumbered by one Jedi, Saba decided to even the playing field by breaking away from her incoming opponent, Lobi, by flipping off to her right and slashing down Twool, diagonally, across his torso. With that, Saba turned back and clashed blades with Lobi even as the two competing groups of Knights engaged.

Lobi took to dueling off against Saba in the offensive fifth form of lightsaber combat, Djem So, but it didn't put the Barabel on the defensive; instead, Saba adopted the aggressive fourth form of lightsaber combat, Ataru, and was thus able to drive the Chev back toward the Blastboat. After a few moments, Lobi switched up her fighting form to that of Soresu, the defensive third form of lightsaber combat, and it eventually allowed her to leap off to the left.

The Chev landed lightly on her back and swiped her lightsaber toward Saba's tail, sheering the whip-like limb off. The Barabel screamed in pain, yet was still able to swing her blade down toward Lobi, who blocked the strike off with her own lightsaber. The Chev then placed a Force-enhanced double-kick against Saba's sternum, sending the Barabel tumbling back.

Saba landed in a backward roll and, from her the position that she was in on her hands and knees, she allowed Lobi to rush up to her. Upon reaching Saba, the Chev increased the aggressiveness of her attacks, and Saba started to bat the strikes off one-handed; her free hand, meanwhile, pressed against the ground in preparation for the Barabel's next move.

Then, with Force-enhanced strength, Saba rocketed up into the air, flipping over Lobi before coming down with her blade at the Chev's head. Naturally, Lobi intercepted the opposing blade with her own, but was unable to stop Saba's non-lightsaber attack, which was the deliverance of a drop-kick upon Lobi's pelvis. Lobi flew back and ended up past the treeline behind her, and this time, Saba rushed in at her.

Lobi then used the Force to rip the trunks of nearby trees before flinging them down toward Saba. The Barabel slashed at some of the incoming logs while dodging away from others before finally coming down upon the Jedi Master; and once again, as Lobi blocked off what would have been a decapitating swipe from Saba's blade, the Barabel used her free hand to plunge her talons right in the small of the Chev's back.

Lobi shrieked in agony, and it only spiked for a few seconds once Saba's bloodied hand pulled out. The Chev's lightsaber then rolled away from her weakened grasp, and Saba slashed the hilt, destroying the weapon.

"I should kill you right now," Saba said, "more to put you out of your mizery than to remove you az a threat to either the Wild Knightz or to Kirana Ti. But that would be too eazy for you, Tresina; az you writhe there in agony, I want you to think about how following Kenth Hamner and the Galactic Alliance haz made a disgrace of a Jedi out of you. If you live, and find successful recovery, then I hope you will come to understand the folly that has forced me to do this to you. But if you die... then I am sorry."

As alien as apologizing was for Saba, as Barabels had little to no understanding of the concept of apologizing, saying that to Lobi did relieve some tension as the former Jedi Master looked down at the wounded Lobi.

"This is not the Jedi way, Saba!" Lobi screamed.

"No, but it is better than what you were going to do," Saba said.

"You turned against us, Sebatyne!" Lobi cried. "You are no better than a Dark Jedi or... or a Sith!"

"If I were Sith, you'd be dead; me sparing you, even in thiz time of pain, iz a mercy. I am allowing you time for introspection, to let you know where you went wrong. If I were Sith, I would not care about you at all. The fact that I am allowing you to live at all increases your chancez of returning to me as a threat, one which may very well end my life.

"So tell me: if you were in my position right now, and I was in yourz, would you do the same for me, for the same reasonz?"

Lobi was silent.

"That iz what I thought," Saba said. She then turned and began walking away before stopping a moment later to turn her head back to Lobi. "And besidez; I am no longer a Jedi. So do not speak to me of the Jedi way again." The Barabel continued on her way, and ended up right back at the site where the duels between Lobi's and Saba's Knights commenced.

The Wild Knights were victorious, as none of them had fallen, and all of Lobi's subordinates lay dead at their feet... except for one.

"Where iz the one named Tyria Sarkin-Tainer?" Saba asked her son.

"She escaped," Tesar replied. "She waz the last one alive, and when she saw the odds against her, she fled into the woods."

"Indeed," Saba mused.

"What do we do now, Mother?"

"No doubt that after Master Lobi reports in to Hamner," Saba said, "he'll send a new squad of Jedi to not only go after the remaining Nightsisterz and Kirana Ti, but us az well.

"Therefore, we must leave Dathomir and find somewhere we can hide."

"Where do you suggest?" Tesar asked.

The thought that came to mind was one that made Saba both happy and sad. "I think I may know."


	44. Chapter 44

Han dropped the stolen ship out of hyperspace right into his and Leia's destination: the Csilla system.

But instead of finding themselves in the midst of a pitched battle between Derapp Joil'ask's Bothan Assault Cruisers and whatever Chiss forces that they'd be fighting, the Solos found themselves in a quiet and peaceful system, with Zonama Sekot a standard sun's distance away from Csilla and with three Star Destroyers in orbit over the living planet.

Immediately, the stolen ship was hailed, and an authoritative, accented female voice said in Basic, "Unidentified vessel, identify yourself and state your intentions in the Csilla system."

Han answered right away. "This is Han Solo, here with my wife Leia Organa Solo. We're here to help our daughter, Jaina." _At least that was the plan anyway_.

"Han Solo?" the voice asked. "I thought your ship was the _Millennium Falcon."_

"It's a long story," Han said.

"I'd like to hear it," the voice replied. It was clear from her tone that it was a demand instead of an insistence.

Han figured why; coming here in a vessel that wasn't the _Falcon_ and identifying yourself as the legendary Han Solo was kind of suspicious. He didn't blame her.

"My wife and I had to... disobey a direct order to come here," he admitted, "and it involved the incapacitation of the _Falcon_ back on Denon."

He looked at Leia, who returned his stare with a regretful expression; confessing that they had to resort to criminality to come here, even in non-Chiss territory, was just asking for trouble here. Especially since the GA and the Ascendancy were on good terms; Han figured that the Chiss would be more than happy to extradite him and Leia back into Alliance jurisdiction to be arrested for resisting Kenth Hamner's orders. But, really, what else could Han have told the Chiss on the other end of the link that wouldn't be suspicious?

"I see," the Chiss replied in a subdued tone. "So, aside from hijacking a starship, what exactly did you do wrong?"

Might as let her know since he was this far in. "We were given a direct order by Jedi Master Kenth Hamner not to come here, or we would have risked our daughter's life under Captain Joil'ask's hands. Obviously, my wife and I wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Interesting," the Chiss said. "Please remain where you are or you will be destroyed. I will return to this conversation soon." The link was then cut off.

Both Solos sighed as they sagged back into their seats. "Well, I guess we might as well prepare to escape," Han said as he then sat back up to plot a course out of the system. "At least we know Jaina's alright." Leia had told him that their daughter was still alive, as she was able to sense that Jaina was still alive through the Force.

"Wait, Han," Leia said as she placed a hand on her husband's forearm, stopping him from continuing. "I'm not sensing any ill intent toward us from any of the Chiss here."

"What do you mean?" Han asked. "You mean the woman we just talked to doesn't wanna snitch on us for breaking a few Galactic Alliance laws?"

"No, I believe she'll tell, but... from what I sense from that individual, it seems like... she would be willing to _help_ us," Leia said.

"Help us?" Han inquired. "Why?"

Leia shrugged. "I don't know. But I think we should probably stick around to find out why."

"And let the Chiss get a better opportunity to catch us? The woman we talked to might wanna help us for whatever reason, but her superiors might think otherwise."

"Look, Han, let's just give this a chance," Leia said. "We might even be able to see Jaina again."

"Yeah. Probably from behind a separating glass in a Chiss prison," Han muttered.

Leia ignored him, especially since he complied by sitting back and waiting with her.

When the female Chiss's voice finally returned from the other end of the transmission, the alien said, "You are cleared to land on Zonama Sekot; your daughter is waiting there for the both of you. These are your landing coordinates."

Han's eyes widened in surprise, but when he looked at his wife, he saw that her expression was one of expected content. Hurriedly, Han replied on the transmission. "Uh, thanks. Thank you."

"You are welcome. Have a nice day," the Chiss said with a degree of gladness, as if she were a chipper fast-food restaurant employee rather than a soldier in the Chiss Ascendancy. The link was then cut off from the Chiss's end.

"Not what I expected from Chiss," Han said as he piloted the stolen ship toward Zonama Sekot on the set course on one of the datascreens. "Especially not after we... well, after _I_ openly admitted that we were criminals of the Galactic Alliance."

"It is because of the influence of Sekot," Leia explained. "I can feel her subtly shifting their thoughts and feelings to her favor."

Han looked back at Leia in further surprise before returning his sight back to the living planet ahead. "She's influencing them?"

"Yes. With the Force, she is bringing out the better part of their nature; she is making them more trusting of others and of each other."

"Don't you think it's still a little... weird?" Han asked. "I mean, isn't influencing the wills and minds of others a dark side trait or something?"

"Not always," Leia said. "After all, Jedi use mind-tricks to get what they want sometimes. But Sekot's influence is only partial enough so that she is not making the Chiss unwilling puppets; they have just enough free thought and will to make the decisions that they feel that they absolutely have to."

"I don't know... if Chiss are willing to allow two people who have committed crimes in the Galactic Alliance to get away with it, I'm thinking Sekot's influence might be a little stronger than you're letting on, Leia."

"Maybe the Chiss aren't as willing to work with the GA as was once thought," Leia suggested. "And that may not even be from Sekot's influence."

"I could buy that," Han conceded, though still a little uncertain.

Leia grinned and laid her hand on her husband's forearm again, though, this time, it was in assurance. "Hey, relax, alright? Think of it like this: if Sekot was such a mind-bender, would she even allow you to be this suspicious of her to begin with?"

Han's expression flashed into one of neutral acknowledgement. "I guess that would calm me down better."

"There we go," Leia said as she sat back in her seat. "And besides, at least we get to see Jaina again."

"How is she, can you sense it?" Han asked.

Leia sighed. "Physically, she's fine. Emotionally..."

"Uh-oh? What, did she and Jag Fel break up or somethin'? Oh, I knew that guy wasn't good for-"

"No, no, it's not that," Leia said. "At least... I don't think it is. Hopefully, she'll tell us if we ask her."

Minutes later, Han set the stolen ship down where the coordinates told them to land, which was a plain, open field of green grass. Then, after they stepped down the opened boarding ramp, Han asked his wife, "So where's Jaina?"

Leia pointed in the direction of one of the three villages in their sight, which was the leftmost one. "That way."

Han sighed. "Do we really have to walk? I'm too old for a hike."

"I don't think that'll be necessary, Han," Leia replied.

Han was about to ask his wife what she meant by that when he looked in the direction she was looking and saw that, from the leftmost village, an organic hovering transport was headed in their direction.

"I take it that'll be our ride?" he asked.

"Yep," Leia answered with a nod.

"Wonderful," he said without his trademark sarcasm.

They waited as Sekot's organic equivalent of a hovertaxi arrived, and they seated themselves in the backseat before the pilot sped back toward where he and his living vehicle came from.

"Uh, just so you know, man," Han said, "my wife and I don't really have any money to-"

"That won't be necessary," the Ferroan pilot replied. "We don't operate on that kind of economy here on Zonama."

"Well, that at least makes things simple," Han said.

Nothing else was said as the rest of the trip was made to the village that Leia first spotted the hovertaxi riding away from, and when they arrived, the pilot put his vehicle to a halt.

"Here's your stop," he said.

"Thank you," Leia said as she and Han stepped out.

After the vehicle hovered away, Han asked his wife, "So where to now?"

"The hut right there," Leia said as she pointed to the primitive-looking house that was right in front of them. "Jaina's waiting for us inside."

They walked up to the door and Han was about to knock before the door opened up by itself.

Leia was the first to enter, and when Han came in after, they were immediately embraced in a big hug by Jaina.

"I'm so glad to see you guys made it," their daughter said in a happy tone.

"Well, we're glad you're safe, honey," Han answered honestly, even though it stung that he and Leia had come all the way out here, having broken several GA laws, just to find that Jaina didn't need saving from them after all.

And the metaphorical acid burned more as Han thought that Hamner was in the right in the end; now he and Leia were in _real_ trouble now that they lost their justification.

"How did you manage to escape, Jaina?" Leia asked.

That was where Jaina's expression dropped. "Jacen saved me."

"Jacen?" Han asked. "I thought he was back on that stupid sojourn of his? You mean to tell me he actually decided not to be a selfish brat and came to save your butt?"

"_Han_," Leia scolded him.

"What? I'm genuinely surprised," he said. He then looked back at Jaina. "Yeah, we told him you'd been kidnapped by Joil'ask, but we didn't think he'd actually do anything."

"Well, he did," Jaina said, "but he never wants to see me again."

"Why, because you took his time out from learning about the Force from whatever weird cult he's been visiting?" Han asked in resentment toward his son.

"No, because he was forced to kill ysalamiri to save me," Jaina explained. "And you know how he loves animals."

"So he couldn't get over that he killed some ysalamiri to save you?" Han snorted. "It's a wonder why he didn't just let them live instead of you."

"No, Dad, you don't understand," Jaina said. "He killed them using the Force, and he _felt_ them when they died."

Han and Leia both looked shock at this.

"How's that even possible?" Leia asked. "I thought ysalamiri repressed the Force around them."

"Apparently, it was something that Jacen learned from whatever weird cult he's been visiting," Jaina echoed her father. "But it sickened him. It sickened him that, by killing innocent creatures who didn't know why they were about to die, he had to save someone who rejected him."

"Well... I guess I can... _somewhat_ see his point," Han said.

But Leia sensed that Han sympathized with their son more than he was letting on.

"What happened to Jacen?" Leia asked her daughter.

"He left the system not long after I found out why he was upset," Jaina explained. "He didn't say where; he just up and left."

"Well, with any luck, he's probably back on his sojourn again," Han figured out loud. "Probably learning whatever new Force stuff there is out there in those other sects."

"Probably," Jaina agreed.

"Listen, Jaina, your father and I are in trouble," Leia explained, moving on to more pressing matters. "We had to disobey a direct order from Kenth Hamner not to come here, and, well..."

"It kinda got outta hand," Han said.

"Outta hand?" Jaina asked.

"To the point that we're now fugitives from Galactic Alliance law," Leia elaborated.

"Ah," Jaina said, her eyes widened.

"Yeah," Han said. "In fact, um... we didn't even come here on the _Falcon_. We had to steal a ship to get here."

"That sounds like a big problem," Jaina understated.

"And the weird thing is," Leia said, "your father actually admitted all this to the Chiss we talked to, and they actually allowed us in. I felt that it was Sekot's influence, but I have to wonder: how long do you think it'll be before that influence is overcome by Chiss law, especially since they're on good terms with the GA, Jaina?"

Jaina shrugged. "I'd say you wouldn't wanna stay long; you may wanna leave the Csilla system, and basically stay out of anyplace they have a claim to, and find a good place to hide."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Han said. "Question is: where the kriff are your mother and I gonna hide?"

"Well, this _is_ the Unknown Regions, Mom and Dad," Jaina pointed out. "I'm sure you'll find somewhere you can hide."

"Yeah, but personally, I prefer it to be safe," Han said.

"I don't blame ya, Dad," Jaina said. "But you know the saying: Good help can be so hard to find."

"Jaina's right, Han," Leia said. "We have to leave now, and find somewhere where neither the GA nor the Chiss can find us."

"Then we'd better start looking," Han said.

After a round of goodbyes with Jaina, Han and Leia turned and left the hut to head back to their stolen ship. From there, they were back out in space and given clearance by the three Chiss Star Destroyers in orbit over Zonama to leave the Csilla system.

Once hyperspace enfolded their illegally confiscated ship, Han looked to his wife and said, "You know, not that I actually wanna sound like I care about our selfish brat of a son, but... is Jacen okay?"

Leia stifled a grin to her husband, knowing that would only make him groan in annoyance. "Well, the Force can only tell me if he's alive or not, at least when we're not in the same system as him. So all I can tell you for sure is that he's still living and breathing. As for whether or not he's okay, at least emotionally? That's a bit iffy, but after what Jaina told us, I'm not sure he's having the best time, Han."

.

"Yeah!" Jacen yelped as he took another swig of the bottle of Hapan brandy, much to the applause of the pleased women around him.

He then continued dancing shirtless on top of the Hapan cantina tabletop of, gyrating his hips and body before all of them, and they all whooped in pleasure at the sight of his chiseled physique.

And all the while, seated in her own reserved private booth in the bar, Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo watched in a more reserved admiration for Jacen's drunken dance.

Seated at either side of her, her cousins, Trista and Taryn Zel, sat averting their eyes in a mixture of shame and pity; Trista had her head in both her palms as her elbows were seated on the table while Taryn had only one of her elbows on the table, with the hand on it covering her own eyes; and both of their heads were bowed.

"If I may speak freely, cousin?" Trista said as she took her head out of her hands.

"As you wish," Tenel Ka allowed with mirth.

"I hope you are still not allowing this man to still get a continuous flow of your money into his bank account," Trista said. "Because I can understand, what with your history with him, why you would allow him the funds necessary to continue his sojourn. But ever since he came to you, saying that he wants to settle here on Hapes, I fail to see why you should keep giving him money if _this_-" she waved a hand at the drunk-dancing Jacen "-is how he'll spend his time now. It would be a waste of the royal funds, cousin!"

"Not when I have agreed to let Jacen be my primary paramour," Tenel Ka said, "and live with me in the Fountain Palace."

Taryn brought her head out of her hand and joined Trista in looking at their cousin in apprehension.

"You did not tell us that, cousin!" Taryn pointed out.

"And we are the chiefs of your security!" Trista furthered. "Why did you not tell us that to begin with?"

"Oh, I was going to tell the two of you!" Tenel Ka said with a friendly dismissive wave of her one hand. "But I wanted to have some entertainment first; and I must say, I find it difficult to see why you would not find this arousing."

"Beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but there is nothing arousing about drunkards to me," Trista said.

"Fair enough," Tenel Ka said. "Taryn, what about you?"

"You know I do not find men to be attractive, cousin," Taryn said.

"Ah, yes, of course. How is Jileek doing, by the way? I forgot to ask," Tenel Ka said.

"She is doing fine in her own bar, thank you," Taryn said. "One which does not allow things like this to happen." She indicated Jacen with a wave of her hand.

"At least men wouldn't do it?" Tenel Ka inquired with a quirky smile.

Taryn couldn't help but share the smile.

And at the same time, Jacen reached down and pulled up a dark-skinned Hapan woman and started to make out with her.

Trista's eyes widened, and looked to her cousin, who still had a mirthful look of entertainment. When Tenel Ka looked at her, she looked annoyed. "Oh, please! Let us not bring double standards, at least not in my company; if I am allowed multiple partners in bed, I believe Jacen should be allowed the same. In fact, I might even invite some over one night, if I am in the mood."

As Jacen pulled back from the kiss with the Hapan whom he was making out with, he suddenly lost his balance and fell off the table, much to the excited surprise of the women around him.


	45. Chapter 45

Consciousness slowly returned to Tyria, with the blur in her vision gradually fading away after she opened her eyes. But once she saw where she was, and the fact that she was tied up by some primitive rope that bound her arms against her body, along with smaller ropes that had her wrists and ankles in similar binds, she began to struggle from where she sat. She reached for her utility belt, only to find that it was gone, along with everything that could have been useful to her, like her handblaster and lightsaber.

On the other side of the dark cave she was in, which was lit only by the smouldering fire in the center, the grim-faced figure of Kirana Ti rose up from where she sat, directing her haunted stare at Tyria.

Tyria didn't know how, but Ti must have managed to sneak past her Force-probing of the Dathomiri forest to knock the blonde Jedi out and take her back here.

At this, the bound Jedi stopped what she was doing and kept herself composed; she didn't want to do anything that would make the woman whom she was sent to kill want to kill her.

"I discovered the bodies of your fellow Jedi out in the woods," Ti explained in a tone that matched her expression. "All of them had fatal lightsaber marks. Now, unless they were either corrupt Witches or Nightsisters, I presume that they were killed by other Jedi?"

Tyria knew that she had to earn Ti's trust. And to do that, she had to, almost paradoxically, lie to the mad Jedi-Witch; telling her that Tyria's fallen comrades had died by Jedi blades, wielded by Jedi - or at least former Jedi, at any rate - would attract too much suspicion.

"No," Tyria said. "They were all killed by Nightsisters. They used the lightsabers of the Jedi who died against them!"

"Is that so?" Ti asked. "Then why was Tresina Lobi spared?"

"Master Lobi is alive?" Tyria asked honestly. While she didn't feel the Jedi Master dying, Tyria had thought that amidst the deaths of all the other Jedi Knights at the hands of Saba Sebatyne's Wild Knights, Lobi's demise had gone unnoticed. At least she and Ti were wondering the same thing.

Ti nodded. "She was heavily wounded, her lightsaber destroyed. She didn't see me, or at least I doubt she saw me, nor did she feel my Force-presence."

"And you didn't help her?" Tyria asked with a mixture of concern and anger, as if she were genuinely appalled that Ti didn't help Lobi. Again, Tyria couldn't let Ti think that she had come here to kill her; she had to play dumb and pretend as if Ti were still considered part of the Jedi Order.

"Why should I have?" Ti countered. "When her wounds were consistent with that of Barabel clawmarks; the same kind of clawmarks I found on the dead Witches and Nightsisters that Master Sebatyne had killed with her Wild Knights."

Ti then leaped over the fire, landed in a crouch before Tyria, then swooped up a hand to grab the rope, pulling the blonde Jedi up so that she was a few inches off the ground.

"Why did Master Sebatyne and Master Lobi fight?" Ti demanded to know.

"Because Master Sebatyne has gone rogue!" Tyria spilled; it was true. "Master Lobi had to kill her, and we had to kill the rest of the Wild Knights who-" At that, Tyria cut herself off, but she knew it was too late. She had already exposed her own lie about whom she and the other Knights were fighting.

Ti looked at Tyria in anger. "Do not lie to me again. Why did Master Sebatyne and her Wild Knights go rogue?"

In spite of Ti's threat, Tyria thought about lying again, only to realize that for whatever she could hide from the mad Jedi-Witch, Ti could easily expose it somehow, either through simple Jedi Force-tricks or through whatever Ti learned just as a Dathomiri Witch. Still, the truth might very well get her killed; but if Ti was reasonable after all, and Sebatyne's thoughts on Ti weren't unfounded, then maybe Tyria could still get out of this alive. Really, it was Tyria's only hope at this point, however tenuous it might be.

"Because Master Lobi, the slain Knights, and I were all sent to kill you," Tyria blurted out.

Instead of reeling in anger, Ti looked at Tyria in a defeated sadness. "Of course you were. Master Hamner knows, just as I do, that I cannot be redeemed, and that I serve a danger to myself and possibly to others who _aren't_ corrupt Witches or Nightsisters."

Ti then gently put Tyria back down to the rocky ground and unsheathed a knife made of a rancor tooth. Tyria closed her eyes, bracing herself for death.

But instead of a fatal slash, Tyria both heard and felt the rope around her body being cut away. She opened her eyes to see that that was the case, and Ti followed it up by hooking her knife-wielding hand around Tyria's body to cut off the rope binding her wrists together.

Finally, after Ti severed the binds on Tyria's ankles, the latter stood up and looked at her captor - actually, _former_ captor - in curiosity.

Ti then tossed the rancor-tooth knife to Tyria, who caught it expertly, before the not-so-mad Jedi-Witch pointed to a far corner in the cave. Tyria looked cautiously in that direction to find a burlap sack of all things lying there.

"Inside that sack are all your belongings," Ti explained. "Including your lightsaber and your blaster. You may use either of those, or the knife that I have just given you, to kill me."

Tyria's curiosity peaked at that point. "What?"

"That was your mission," Ti pointed out. "And I am giving you the opportunity to fulfill it, Jedi Knight Tyria Sarkin-Tainer. I deserve this; but I have been too much of a coward to bring it upon myself. So I want you to do it." The Jedi-Witch spread her arms out, inviting Tyria in to kill her. "Do it, and end this. End my misery."

Tyria hesitated, not knowing if she should actually follow through with this, regardless of what her mission was.

"This is no trick or trap, I assure you," Ti said. "Feel my Force-presence, you'll know it to be true."

"I feel your sincerity, Kirana Ti," Tyria said after a moment.

"So get it over with," Ti said.

Tyria didn't move an inch from her position.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ti asked, tears now coming from her eyes. "Do it."

Tyria still didn't know if she should do it; as she looked in Ti's eyes, she saw a woman who could very well be redeemed. And that impression was only heightened further as Tyria delved even further into Ti's Force-presence; Tyria saw a woman of so much compassion, goodness, and self-guilt for Streen's death.

But even without any of that, Tyria could still tell that this woman, by offering herself for death, was worth redemption.

"Do it!" Ti screamed.

Tyria was about to drop the knife and tell Ti that she wouldn't kill her; that she was worth bringing back to the Jedi Order after all, where she could receive help.

But she was cut off from saying any of that when she spotted a silhouetted figure standing behind Ti, out of focus from the light offered by Ti's fire.

In spite of herself, the Jedi-Witch noticed Tyria's stare and turned in that direction.

Only to be run through by a green-bladed lightsaber wielded by Kenth Hamner.

Tyria gasped in wide-eyed shock, but said nothing more.

And as Kirana looked up from the lightsaber blade that had impaled her through the abdomen, she locked gazes with Hamner. Her killer had a cold, expressionless face, one which conveyed absolutely nothing. And since the life was fading from Kirana, she couldn't tell how Hamner felt about what he had done through the Force.

She only gave him a grim look that wordlessly told him that she thanked him for ending her plight. Then her eyes closed and her life was no more.

Hamner then deactivated his lightsaber and used his free hand to push Kirana's corpse into the fire behind her, where her body caught instantly before starting to burn it to ashes.

The Jedi Master then looked back up at Tyria over the fire, and then other figures from the cave walked in; once they came within the light of the fire, Tyria could see that they were Tresina Lobi, Cilghal, and a few other Jedi whom Tyria was unfamiliar with.

"After Master Lobi reported her defeat at former Master Sebatyne's hands," Hamner said, "along with the accompanying loss of her team, I decided to come to Dathomir myself with Master Cilghal and these other Knights, Jedi Sarkin-Tainer. I am glad to see that you are alright."

"Well... thank you, Master Hamner," Tyria said with a stiff but formal enough bow. After seeing that there had been hope for Kirana, only to see it snuffed away by Hamner taking her life, Tyria was less than enthusiastic about respecting the Jedi Master like this.

Hamner's cold gaze narrowed, and he rounded the fire that continued to consume Kirana's body so that he was face-to-face with Tyria.

"Do not think that Kirana Ti was worth redemption because she offered herself to die at your hands," Hamner intoned. "Even if she believed herself to be worthy enough of redemption, I have felt her presence: she has been tainted to the point that she will never be the same person she was before the attack on the praxeum here. And with her powers, she could have posed even an inadvertent threat to herself and others had we brought her back to Denon or anywhere else in the Galactic Alliance."

"I understand, Master Hamner," Tyria said reluctantly.

"I know you do, Jedi Sarkin-Tainer. But the lack of what I feel from you is your acceptance of this; therefore, I ask that you be returned back to Denon for some reeducation."

"Reeducation?" Tyria asked. She didn't like the sound of that word; under dictatorships like the Empire in its heyday, the term "reeducation" carried some very negative connotations.

"It is not as bad as it sounds," Hamner told her reassuringly. "All it is is simply a reinforcement of what you already know; but on a deeper level. With that reeducation, you will come to understand how someone like Kirana Ti, who has been so tainted by the dark side, could pose a danger even if she was offered redemption... and even if she had tried to redeem herself."

Tyria still felt very unsure about this "reeducation."

.

Jacen woke up, hungover from another drunken night, this time surrounded by a legion of women in the room of the Fountain Palace that Tenel Ka had called the Pleasure Room; it was a room located within the upper levels of the palace that was as big as the Ballroom down on the ground floor.

The entirety of the Pleasure Room was insulated by a soft, pillow-like material that was completely coated in pink. The actual pillows and sheets that were present varied in color, but only added visual variety to the Pleasure Room. Aside from these details, the rest of the room was spartan; it was like a bouncy funhouse for adults instead of kids, where the fun was a lot more sexual in nature.

Sometimes, whenever Tenel Ka hosted grand parties that had really special occasions, she would take to the Pleasure Room for an organized orgy. Now, after several days, Jacen had finally been introduced to the room, and invited his polygamous sex friends over for a fun night.

As far as Jacen could see, having forgotten practically everything about last night, the disarray of the sheets, pillows, clothes, and the varied sleeping positions of the now-waking women indicated that the previous night was a good night indeed. The only detail that was missing, which would have been a particularly disgusting detail, was the lack of any human fluids present in their surroundings... namely Jacen's semen and sexual juices from the women.

But when one of the waking women suddenly vomited, and her stream stopped two seconds later, the vomit was absorbed into the floor.

_Well, that explains what happened to all the fluids_, Jacen thought in between his hangover.

However, in spite of the throbbing pain in his head, the sight of the vomit being absorbed into the Pleasure Room's material brought back memories of Onimi's death; how he was reduced to a pool of foul hydrocarbons that was absorbed by the yorik coral of his escape craft. And he had been defeated because Jacen had achieved oneness with the Force...

Jacen shoved the memory away; he didn't need the reminder of that achievement. What good did it do for him, anyway? Not when he failed to save Uncle Luke... He then shoved that thought away once again, allowing the pain in his temples to overcome his concentration as he untangled himself from the orgy pile that he had gotten himself into.

Later, after everyone, including Jacen, got dressed and said their polite goodbyes to one another before leaving the Pleasure Room, Jacen found himself running into someone he didn't expect to meet again.

Danni Quee.

Escorted by two muscled Hapan guards armed with blaster carbines, Danni was dressed in a modest green dress - which Jacen couldn't help but notice matched her the color of her eyes perfectly - that made her look like a chaste saint in comparison to the revealing attires of Jacen's sexual partners who were still seeing themselves out down the corridor past Danni and the guards.

"Danni? What are you doing here?" Jacen asked, the pain in his head easily ignored for the moment.

"I was about to ask the same question to you," Danni said. "But I can see you probably had a lot of fun last night with all those women." Her tone and expressions betrayed nothing, and neither did her neutral-seeming Force-presence; Jacen was still unsure as to why he had a hard time sensing her or her true emotions.

He shrugged. "I think I may have; last night's a total blank to me. You don't mind if I get something to dull the pain in my head, Danni?" He vainly massaged his temples, which only made the pain worse.

"I don't mind," Danni said, still not betraying anything of her real emotions. "You don't mind if I follow you?"

"Of course not," Jacen replied.

Later, at the royal diner table, Jacen sat in one of the farthest seats, with a glass of water with a hangover-killing solute already prepared for him. He drank it all in one gulp.

Jacen then shifted the chair around so he was looking back up at Danni. "Now we play the waiting game," he said for her benefit, who continued to stand with the guards who were still escorting her around.

"Waiting game?" Danni asked.

"For the solution to take its effect," Jacen said. "Usually takes around ten minutes or so to kill the pain, but may take longer or shorter depending on how drunk I got last night."

"I see," Danni said.

"So, Danni, what're you doing out here away from Zonama Sekot?"

"I came to see how you were doing," Danni answered. "Especially after what happened when that Joil'ask guy tried to attack Zonama. I felt that you were in pain; through the Force, I mean. You had the same reaction when you destroyed that first Bothan fleet. It hurt you, didn't it, Jacen?"

Jacen repressed a sigh. "And how'd you find out I was here? Did you track my Force-presence or something?"

"No, I saw that you were now a 'consort' of Queen Mother Tenel Ka," Danni said, "as advertised in the Hapan tabloids. They're readily available on the HoloNet, you know."

"Figures," Jacen said with a dismissive wave.

"Jacen... you're not well," Danni said.

"I will be once this solution takes effect," Jacen said.

"No, I mean, you need professional help," Danni said. "I know what you're doing; you're trying to drown your problems away in alcohol and hedonism. But you know, that's gonna work forever; reality's gonna come crashing back down on you, and all this, all this you're doing? It's gonna make things worse for you in the long-run."

"Are you done?" Jacen asked.

Danni shrugged. "It's basically all I've come here to say."

"Then answer me this," Jacen said, surprised at himself that he wasn't as angry at Danni as he should be - or at least how he felt he should be. "Why are you concealing your Force-presence from me even as we speak?"

Danni was hesitant in her response. "So you picked up on that, huh?"

"Kinda hard to miss," Jacen said in a resentful tone. "Especially after Tekli and Tahiri told me that they could still sense your presence no problem. And I doubt that either of them were lying for whatever reason; so that means you're deliberately placing your presence away from mine. So,again, answer my question: Why are you doing it? And how did you learn it?"

Danni sighed. "I learned it from Tahiri after the war, while you were gone. She taught me how to make myself small, as she put it."

Jacen couldn't help but grin in fond remembrance. "That's what I taught her; and what Vergere taught me. Go on."

"I'm hiding from you, Jacen, because I feel-"

Danni was cut off from saying anymore when the grand door leading into the diner room opened to admit the Queen Mother.

"So you must be Danni Quee," Tenel Ka said with a polite, and evidently practiced, smile. "I am so glad that we could finally meet."


	46. Chapter 46

Tenel Ka had invited Danni to breakfast with her and Jacen, and as the four of them - including Tenel Ka's father, Prince Isolder - ate, conversation naturally flowed, mainly between Danni and the Queen Mother.

"I have heard much about you during the war, Miss Quee," Tenel Ka said from the head of the table. "You were a very well-respected scientist, helping to contribute much to the war effort against the Yuuzhan Vong. I even understand that you were well-respected among Saba Sebatyne's Wild Knights."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that Saba and the others thought very highly of me, Your Majesty," Danni commented modestly from where she sat, which was off to Tenel Ka's right of the royal dining table. "Really, whatever contributions I made were minimal; I just did my part to end the war for those who were native to the galaxy." She took a bite out of her eggs.

"We all did," Tenel Ka replied before taking a sip of juice from her goblet.

"So, um..." Danni began, "why don't any of the woman whom Jacen has... activities with join for breakfast? Are they not allowed, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, they are allowed if they so wish," Tenel Ka said. "They simply choose not to. Many of my citizens feel intimidated to be in my presence."

"I see," Danni said in a not-too-dismissive way.

"I must say, it was strange for you to come all the way out here from Zonama Sekot," Tenel Ka observed. "While I was willing to allow you to enter the Fountain Palace to see Jacen, may I ask what for?"

Danni froze, not knowing if she should answer.

And from his spot to Tenel Ka's left, as he ate his breakfast, Jacen observed Danni and Tenel Ka through the Aing-Tii Force-spectrum. Both of them radiated pink, which Jacen remembered stood for desire, but both varied in terms of accompanying colors. Danni's pink was tinged with yellow, that of fear - which told him that Danni felt as intimidated to be around Tenel Ka as any of the women whom Jacen slept with - while Tenel Ka's pink was nearly overshadowed by the green of envy.

He had a bad feeling for what that meant between the two of them. The question that was on his mind, however, was why Tenel Ka would feel jealous of Danni wanting to be with Jacen? The Queen Mother had no problem with Jacen sleeping around with other women, so why would there be a problem with Tenel Ka concerning Danni's presence?

"Well, actually... I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but while I know that this is your home," Danni said when she came out of her hesitation, "the matter that I wished to bring to Jacen is of a private matter that I want to share only with him." She then brought her own goblet up to drink some of the juice in that.

"If you wish to have sexual intercourse with Jacen, Miss Quee, all you need do is ask," Tenel Ka said.

At that, Danni gagged on the juice, and couldn't help but squirt some of the yellow liquid out through her nose and onto her breakfast plate. She coughed a bit before looking at Tenel Ka in shock.

"What?!" she couldn't help but exclaim.

"I can see to it that you end up in Jacen's next orgy as soon as that is planned," Tenel Ka suggested, "or, if you wish, you may have him all to yourself for one night. I will even supply the protection needed for the prevention of the transmission of any possible sexual diseases."

Yet, even as the Queen Mother made this proposal to Danni, Jacen could see the green in Tenel Ka's Force-aura almost completely dominating the pinkness of her being. It was as if she was making this offer purely out of formality, when she no doubt really wanted to kick Danni out of the Fountain Palace and off of Hapes, which she could easily do.

Which made the question of why Tenel Ka was even going through with this a bigger question, and made Jacen scratch his head in wonderment as to why Tenel Ka was being this jealous of Danni.

As for Danni's aura, the yellow in her being was replaced by the orange of passionate bravery.

"Listen, Your Majesty, I have no interest in being with Jacen," Danni said. "I only wished to see how he was doing after all that he suffered when he fought to protect Zonama Sekot and Jaina from the Bothans, and I wanted to see how I could help him cope."

"And, actually," Jacen spoke up, "before you stepped in, Tenel Ka, Danni here was actually about to tell me why she was hiding her mainstream Force-presence from me."

"Mainstream Force-presence?" Tenel Ka asked.

"It's the basic Force-presence that all Jedi can sense in others," Jacen said. "Although I can still read your feelings, at least, in the both of you from what I learned from the Aing-Tii monks."

"Is that so?" Tenel Ka asked. "Then what do you sense from us, Jacen?"

"Well, Tenel Ka, you're not exactly happy with Danni being here, which makes me wonder why you're even tolerating her to begin with," Jacen said. "And, Danni, I can see you're quite intimidated in being with the Queen Mother."

"If I am not welcoming of Miss Quee's presence, Jacen, then what do you think would make me allow her to stay here?" Tenel Ka asked.

Jacen shrugged. "Maybe you're trying to gauge her, see what she's made of, and find out why she came to see me."

"I have made that last part quite clear," Tenel Ka said.

"And, Danni," Jacen said, "you were going to explain why you were hiding your Force-presence from me?"

Danni cleared her throat. "Well, um... I guess the reason that I was hiding myself from you, Jacen, was because..." She trailed off in a sigh.

"It's okay, take your time," Jacen said.

Danni snorted. "Is that what all those women say to you during your orgies with 'em?" she asked in a condescending tone.

The other three around the table looked at Danni in consternation.

"Oh, wait, that's right, you get so blackout drunk that you wouldn't even remember if Palpatine came back to life in the middle of all your action!" Danni ranted. "So I guess you wouldn't what those women would say to you, much less what they did with you, huh?! 'Oh, hey, Jacen, remember me?' 'Uh... no, why should I?' 'Because we were at an orgy and you impregnated me, dumbass, so I want some childcare money! I'm sure your sugar momma of a Queen Mother will pay for that!'"

Tenel Ka abruptly stood up. "I want you to leave, Miss Quee. I want you to leave Hapes and the rest of the Consortium and never return; if you do, you will be arrested for insulting the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium."

Danni also stood up. "Fine! Go on ahead, Your Majesty! Keep letting Jacen have inebriated orgies while letting the fact that he's obviously in so much emotional pain slip by you!"

"What are you talking about, Danni?" Jacen denied. "You actually think I'm still on about having to kill those Bothans and ysalamiri?" He snorted derisively. "I did what I had to, and if I had to kill some assholes and a buncha mindless animals, then so be it! I'm fine now! I've never been better!"

By then, the two guards who escorted Danni in here had joined her side, and one of them lightly nudged her in the ribs with the barrel of her carbine.

"Classic holodrama cliches of denial if I ever heard 'em!" Danni went on as she walked to the door with the guards. "That's truly pathetic; more than missing your uncle's funeral!"

Jacen clenched his fists and seethed in anger as he waited for the guards to bring Danni, who said no more, out the door.

After the door finally closed, Tenel Ka said, "She is lucky that she is not one of my citizens; I would have had her punished immediately for her insolence."

"What was she talking about, Jacen?" Isolder asked him. "I am curious."

Jacen shrugged a little too nonchalantly. "Just a few things that would make a complete wimp have a nervous breakdown."


	47. Chapter 47

The silence of Bothawui was louder than any of the protests mustered by the planet's people before the events surrounding Trusk Fey'lya's actions.

Immediately after the death of Borsk Fey'lya's fanatical cousin, Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu sent shuttles of Galactic Alliance soldiers down to the surface to gain some measure of order in the planetwide chaos that had resulted. The soldiers, who worked in tandem with the surprisingly cooperative native Bothan troops, had set their blasters to stun and downed thousands of rioting civilians in the streets. It had only taken a few hours of that before the riots all but fizzled away and those Bothans who were still conscious had returned to their homes in correspondence to Supreme Commander Bwua'tu's declaration of martial law over Bothawui.

The martial law that was put into effect was meant to investigate further into the Bothan peoples' affairs for the sake of rooting out those like Trusk Fey'lya and those who were part of what he declared to be his "True Victory Party." While most citizens across the planet, including the Bothan troops, were cooperative, there were a few violent incidents here and there with non-cooperative Bothans; relatively few of them had been identified as True Victory Party members, whether they were heavily interrogated or openly admitted to it upon being arrested.

All in all, though, despite the Bothan government's allowance of the Galactic Alliance to intrude on their homeworld, many on both the GA side and the Bothan sides of things felt an undercurrent of brewing violence about to occur. Sooner or later, the Bothans would strike back somehow.

And strike back they did.

Though the Galactic Alliance had ships overseeing the other known systems and worlds where the Bothans had a military presence separate from the GA, the latter government was unaware that the former had Assault Cruisers and other war vessels stationed in territories beyond the purview of the Alliance. The reason that the Bothans had such ships in these other systems was for the typical Bothan reason: readiness borne from suspicion. Considering the state that the Bothans found themselves in - their resources and assets under scrutiny by the Galactic Alliance - they knew that at that point, they would need a strategy that relied on the element of surprise against the GA, and had thus prepared for it beforehand, something that the Bothans had learned since the Caamas Document Crisis.

Hence, the Alliance Star Destroyers in orbit over Bothawui barely had time to react before a dozen Bothan Assault Cruisers dropped out of hyperspace at various points throughout the system, though always near Bothawui itself. As a result, by the time the Star Destroyers were firing back at the surprise Assault Cruisers, the GA capital ships had already taken several hits to their energy shields. From there, the Assault Cruisers that were in orbit with the Star Destroyers turned on their partners and began trading turbolaser fire with them.

And what made things worse on the GA side of things was that on each Star Destroyer, communications officers sent out distress hypercomm hails pleading for backup, only to find that their transmissions were being jammed; another little preparation made by the Bothans, specifically their numerous genius tech teams.

In the years of Palpatine's Galactic Empire, the sight of Bothan Assault Cruisers turning against Star Destroyers would have been a celebrated and supported event on the part of the Rebel Alliance. But now, for an offspring government of the Rebellion, it was an event of chaos.

And in the midst of that chaos, a shuttle flew out of the hangar bay of one of the Assault Cruisers that had dropped out of hyperspace before heading straight for Bothawui. The expert pilot behind the shuttle's controls managed to fly through the storm of turbolaser fire being exchanged between the GA and Bothan capital warships to break through Bothawui's atmosphere and descend for the site of her quarry.

Upon reaching her destination, a modest-looking apartment complex, the pilot set the ship to hover a meter over the rooftop while lowering the boarding ramp. Moments later, former GA Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey sat himself down in the vacant copilot seat and strapped himself in.

Kre'fey and the pilot shared wordless respectful smiles to each other. The latter then closed and sealed the boarding ramp back up before shooting back up into space.

Minutes later, after the pilot took Kre'fey through the continued flurry of exchanged fire between the GA Star Destroyers and the opposing Assault Cruisers, the former Supreme Commander had finally boarded the primary capital Cruiser, the _Pride of Bothawui_. From there, he rushed through as the warship was bombarded by enemy fire so that he was on the bridge.

"Admiral on the bridge!" the captain of the _Pride_ announced, relinquishing his command chair even as the battle continued outside.

"No need for salutes!" Kre'fey proclaimed before any of the otherwise busy Bothans could do anything. "Just keep to your stations and do what you must until otherwise ordered by me! Comm station," he called to the communications officer, "I want all battle stats as of now transferred directly to the specs readout of the command chair!"

"Yes, sir!" the comm officer replied with a crisp salute before turning back to fulfill Kre'fey's command.

After Kre'fey quickly read up on the updates that were sent to him, he shut down the specs readout in the command chair and opened up an encrypted line to the rest of the Bothan fleet. From there, he began issuing various commands for new strategic placements, where to fire, what needed to be improved in the midst of combat, etc.

Half an hour after Kre'fey took command, the remaining GA Star Destroyers - which were significantly fewer than the Assault Cruisers that were still going strong - began scattered, disparate retreats from their positions, breaking through the lines offered by their Assault Cruiser opponents before jumping into hyperspace.

After the last Star Destroyer was gone, everyone on the _Pride of Bothawui_'s bridge, as well as the bridges of all the other remaining Assault Cruisers, erupted into loud cheers and whoops. For his part, Kre'fey merely grinned in more satisfaction than he would have normally had after winning a battle.

Some Supreme Commander that Bwua'tu turned out to be, Kre'fey thought in vindication. Of course, he figured that he might tango with Bwua'tu again; his Star Destroyer was one of the ones that had jumped into hyperspace, as the sensors officer had informed him during the Destroyers' evacuations.

When the cheers finally died down, the comm officer turned from his station and began telling Kre'fey the list of Assault Cruiser groups that had either broken out of GA control from or had been defeated, either through obliteration or surrender. Those that had broken out of control had jumped into hyperspace and were now heading to the Bothawui system or other systems that had been won from GA scrutiny.

"Excellent," Kre'fey commented once the report was done. "Now comes the difficult part," he announced to the rest of the bridge crew. "Bracing for what the GA have in store for us. Get to work, people!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the entire bridge crew saluted uniformly before promptly returning to their duties.

Kre'fey then went to work himself, making sure that each and every individual of the Bothan fleet made the necessary preparations for a standard Galactic Alliance retaliation force; it was the least that could be expected, and if there was anymore, he was sure that his people could fight against it with their dying breaths.

But in spite of the single-mindedness in which he carried out his own duties, Kre'fey couldn't help but feel exhilarated, in ways both good and bad, over the fact that it was official: the Bothan people were now in a war with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.


	48. Chapter 48

"You want _what_?" Hamner asked, barely restraining the anger from his tone.

"You heard me correctly, Master Hamner," Mother Augwynne Djo replied patiently. "We want all Jedi and Galactic Alliance presences off Dathomir as soon as possible."

The two of them stood face-to-face within Djo's village of the Dathomiri Witch Singing Mountain Clan; and just as Djo had her band of Witches standing behind her, Hamner had his fewer number of Jedi behind him.

Of course, in spite of the fewer present numbers, Hamner still had the support of the rest of the Jedi Order who were elsewhere across the galaxy, as well as the Galactic Alliance; everything that Djo had was right here in this village.

"We, the Jedi Order and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, have offered the Dathomiri Witches who are not corrupt or Nightsisters protection, Mother Djo," Hamner argued, composing himself to a more formal tone and expression. "By asking us to leave, you will be forfeiting that protection. As well, we have not finished hunting down the remaining Nightsisters, nor rooting out and eliminating the last of the corrupt Witches among your peoples' clans."

"We can handle those Nightsisters and corrupt Witches on our own time, Master Hamner. As for the protection that you have offered us, it would not be able to arrive in time should a catastrophe, whether natural or sentient-made, bring us to our knees, if not to outright extinction. But even if that were not a problem, and we had a Jedi-Galactic Alliance presence readily available in orbit over Dathomir, we still want you all gone."

"Why?" Hamner demanded to know.

"Because with all the deaths that you have been causing in your hunts for corrupt Witches and Nightsisters," Djo elaborated, "we feel darkness and despair radiating through the Force. Quite frankly, it disturbs me personally that you cannot sense it for yourself, Master Hamner."

"I am sorry that you feel this way, Mother Djo," Hamner stated in a tone more formal than sincere, "but it is a necessary evil that-"

"And that is where I must stop you, Master Hamner. _Necessary evil_. No evil should ever be necessary. As I have said countless times before, to burgeoning Witches in my clan, we must never concede to evil. That is our oldest and most sacred law. When we concede to evil, even in a small way, we feed it, and it grows stronger. That is what you are doing; by hunting down these corrupt Witches and Nightsisters as you have been doing, you have been tainting the Force around us. As well, do you believe that just because you hunt down these corrupt Witches and Nightsisters that once they are all dead, this will all stop? You are provoking vengeance as you hunt down the mothers, sisters, cousins, daughters, and nieces of other Witches, thus turning them against their own brethren, and against you, so that they become corrupt. Yes, we have engaged in battle with Nightsisters before, but we have never done what you have done, which is more out of aggression than defense."

"The decisions made by such Witches of whom you speak, Mother Djo," Hamner said, his tone losing a little bit of patience, "are theirs and theirs alone. Whatever influence that we, the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance, may have, or what you Witches think we may have, is something that is within your ability to decide. Those who decide to seek vengeance will be appropriately punished; we do not wish to go after all Dathomiri Witches. The very fact that we are speaking to one another on these terms is proof of that. As well, the actions that we take, which you believe come more from aggression than defense, is part of the defense. After all, are you not familiar with the phrase, 'The best defense is a good offense?'"

"I have heard of that phrase, Master Hamner, and I disagree with it completely. But even if I were to concede that the actions of individual Witches are theirs and theirs alone, which I can partially agree with," Djo said, "you are still bringing a heavy and dark presence to the Force that should not be there, Master Hamner. As a Jedi, I am ashamed of you and your Order for being this irresponsible. Has your Order been so tainted by the Yuuzhan Vong War that you feel that the ends must justify the means? If that is the case, then Kirana Ti should have never been part of your Order; it was a mistake for her to have joined Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy to begin with."

"Your people are bringing this upon yourselves!" Hamner shouted, losing all patience at Djo's words. "It was the Witches of Dathomir who have made the decision to disrupt order and peace on your own homeworld! We are simply trying to reestablish that order and peace!"

At this, the Witches behind Djo tensed and reached for their staffs, and when the Jedi behind Hamner saw this, they reached for their lightsabers.

Djo waved down her Witches, albeit warily, and her subordinates relaxed; the Jedi behind Hamner also lowered their collective guard.

Still retaining her calm, Djo said, "For one who claims that one must take responsibility for his or her own actions, it sounds like you are placing the blame for what you are doing on the Witches rather than on yourselves."

"We are Jedi," Hamner said with certainty. "It is our sworn duty to protect and serve, even if that means killing others, such as corrupt Witches and Nightsisters."

"So, because you are Jedi, that exempts you from personal responsibility, by hiding behind mandated responsibility?" Djo asked. "From the consequences that are borne from those actions?"

"For Jedi, personal and mandated responsibilities are one and the same," Hamner said.

Djo snorted. "What a pathetic, self-deluded sense of righteousness that you have, Hamner."

"Says you. And that is _Master_ Hamner to you, _Djo_," Hamner replied.

"You are not my Master," Djo growled. "Now I will ask you again to take everything related to the Jedi and Galactic Alliance off my homeworld and never come back. As of now, we, the Singing Mountain Clan, have disowned the current state of the Jedi Order, and should you continue to stay here for the next twenty-four hours, you will be declaring war against us and, by extension, the rest of Dathomir, and not just the corrupt Witches and Nightsisters that you have hunted."

Hamner growled back. "We are not going anywhere until you and your people have been brought back into line, Djo."

"'Back into line,'" Djo echoed. "The words of tyranny. So be it." She then cast out a Force-wave, propelling Hamner back into his line of Jedi.

He landed flat on his back before looking up to Djo and growling. Hamner leaped to his feet, removed the lightsaber from his belt before activating it, and the rest of the Jedi behind him did the same as they faced the Witches before them.

Djo and her Witches, for their part, unsheathed their combat staffs from their holsters and adopted battle-ready stances.

"To war with the Jedi and their Alliance!" Djo declared.

She was answered by a whoop of agreement from her village, and they charged in at the eight Jedi.

But instead of engaging the Witches, the Jedi held their ground, and before their enemies could reach them, the sound of a sonic boom was heard throughout the forest. The Witches halted in their advance, and they looked up to see a Skipray Blastboat descending rapidly for them.

The ship leveled out and begin spraying giant red laser bolts in their direction. Several Witches were either vaporized by the intense blasts or blown by impact-producing misses, prompting the survivors to beat a hasty retreat back into their village by their Mother's words.

"Save the children and the men!" Djo called, projecting her voice with the Force even as she dodged the raining projectiles. "Leave no one alive behind!"

And all the while, Hamner and the Jedi watched dispassionately for several moments before Hamner got a message from his commlink.

"Master Hamner," the voice of the female Yuzzem Knight Barratk'l said, "do you wish for me to continue to fire and target the village?"

Hamner considered the question. At the same time that he had activated his lightsaber to make it appear as if he and the rest of his Jedi would have been willing to fight Djo and her Witches, he had sent out a coded signal beep to the Skipray Blastboat, piloted by Barratk'l in low orbit over Dathomir, via the small beeper that he had magnetized to his lightsaber hilt. Hamner had known that even he, Masters Cilghal and Lobi, and the Knights with them would have stood no chance against the overwhelming numbers offered by Djo and her clan had they resisted, so he had Barratk'l placed in preparation for such an event.

Now that he had committed to waging war with the Singing Mountain Clan, at the very least, Hamner wondered if he should have Barratk'l keep killing; if there was to be war against these Witches, then the most tactically brilliant decision would be to wipe out as many as possible, if not all of them. He certainly had no problem with agreeing on Saba Sebatyne's decision to hunt down corrupt Witches and Nightsisters they way she and her Wild Knights did before they went rogue.

"Make some warning shots on the village," Hamner ultimately said, "but let's not kill any retreating enemies or the civilians with them; we only want to ward them away."

"Understood, Master Hamner," Barratk'l returned before signing off.

Hamner's military side felt that he would ultimately come to regret not wiping out this village right now, when all of his enemies were in retreat. However, as a Jedi, a man part of the organization that had allowed the Yuuzhan Vong to live, he still felt that committing an outright massacre would be morally reprehensible.

But even with the morality taken out of the equation, Hamner still had to think about what this would do for the Jedi who followed him. Saba Sebatyne had already turned on the Order because she thought that hunting down Kirana Ti was unjust, so he couldn't afford to lose the likes of Cilghal or Tresina Lobi; he had to ease them onto his side, and to do that, he couldn't simply order an outright massacre in front of them.

They and the Knights with them - along with every single other Jedi in the Order - had to come to understand where a certain application of force - some would say excessive force - would be appropriate. Now wasn't the time for that.

So he would let the survivors retreat with their loved ones and their belongings so that they could live to fight some other time. If only they decided to attack him and the others...

As if in answer to his thoughts, Mother Djo turned back from the village and fixed Hamner with a hateful stare. She then rushed up towards him, uttering a loud battle-cry while bearing her combat staff. Barratk'l took to firing at her, but the Witch Mother dodged all of the laser bolts that rained down as she advanced on the Jedi.

Soon, Barratk'l's laser strikes ceased, as she didn't want to risk hurting or killing any of her fellow Jedi, as Djo's lightsaber-resistant staff met Hamner's glowing green blade and they began exchanging clashes. The one-on-one fight only lasted for a few seconds, as Cilghal and Lobi rounded the dueling pair and tried to strike their blades at Djo's backside.

But the Witch Mother quickly shifted her stance in time so that one end of her staff blocked off both Cilghal and Lobi's, and she twirled and struck her staff against all three of her opponents' blades with deadly expertise, especially for one as elderly as she.

Two of the Jedi Knights from the group then rounded so that one was in front of Djo while the other was behind her, and they lashed their sabers at her. But instead of engaging them and adding to her growing list of opponents, she leaped up and cast another Force-wave down at her opponents.

The five Jedi who set out to engage Djo were flattened against the ground, but with no more serious injuries than some severe bruises on their bodies. But while Djo was still in the air, the four remaining Jedi Knights leaped up after her, their lightsabers blazing to bring about her death.

"Wait, no!" Lobi called up after the ascending Knights.

But it was too late; with deadly speed, Djo struck out her staff toward all four of the Knights, getting past their guards and slashing across their torsos. Thick streams of blood followed their then-descending bodies.

Djo landed in a cat-like crouch just a second after all four of the other dead Knights landed prostrate on the loamy ground, with their blood pooling all around them and their killer.

Hamner and the surviving Jedi with him all stood up to glare back at Djo, who sported a murderous look in her eyes.

But before anyone on the ground could make a move, Barrtak'l fired down upon Djo with giant laser bolts; the Witch Mother, however, Force-sped out of the way and toward Hamner.

But Hamner used Djo's burst of Force-speed against her by using the Force himself, which brought up a wall of dirt from the ground. It hit Djo's speeding form, blinding her.

And, having used the soil of her own homeworld against her, he struck out, severing her staff-wielding arm from her body. Her pained scream only lasted for two seconds before he decapitated her, both literally and figuratively cutting off the head of the Singing Mountain Clan's leadership.

"Mother Djo is dead!" a Witch cried from within the village.

"We must continue our retreat!" another Witch called out.

Most of the Witches escaped the village with their men, children, and other properties and disappeared into the woods; those few who were daring enough to try and avenge Mother Augwynne Djo by rushing back at the Jedi were met by Barratk'l's laser bolts. Those daring Witches that weren't vaporized into smoking craters on the ground turned back and rejoined the remainders of their clans.

"You may run and hide," Hamner muttered under his breath in the direction of the fleeing Witches, "but sooner or later, you will all die."


	49. Chapter 49

Though the shock had passed over a year before, Saba's heart was no less broken upon seeing her devastated homeworld of Barab I. She had thought that, after coming out of hyperspace with what remained of her Wild Knights, the pain of Barab I's destruction at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong would have faded; instead, it was as painful for her to see as it was when she had returned home during the war.

Still, neither the Galactic Alliance nor the Jedi Order would ever think that the Wild Knights would take refuge here, on the ruins of the Barabels' homeworld, and that one reason that made Barab I among the best possible places for the Wild Knights to hide.

The other reason: there were Barabels who were even now hiding underneath the planet, and they were more than willing to help fellow Barabels and any non-Barabel accomplices whom they might bring along.

Saba and her shortened squadron traveled down through the dank, murky atmosphere of the planet, and seeing the devastated landscape was even more hurtful. It reminded Saba of the ruined state of Ithor, which had once been a verdant, green world full of the beauty of nature before the Yuuzhan Vong made it into an airless, barren wasteland.

Technically, there was still breathable air on this planet, and in time, Barab I's worldwide ecology, which had necessitated the evolution of Saba's species, would restore itself, a commodity that Ithor did not have. But whatever redevelopment that Barab I would go through would take place well beyond Saba's time; perhaps even beyond the time of Tesar's great-grandchildren, if Barab I had any luck.

But Saba put those thoughts out of her mind for the moment and concentrated on bringing her own X-wing toward what looked like a rocky cliff side, only for the formation to part artificially, revealing itself to be the entrance of a docking bay inside. Saba was the first to pilot her fighter inside, then Tesar, and the rest followed one by one until they were all inside and settled their ships down before they cut their engines.

And as they all leaped from their opened canopies, the docking bay began to descend at a slow, controlled rate, and within two minutes, the bay had ended up in the subterranean levels of Barab I itself.

One of the many doors to the bay opened up, and a female Barabel - one who was even bigger than Saba - walked in with a dozen brethren trailing along.

Saba and the rest of the Wild Knights - including those who weren't Barabels - bowed at their waists before the lead arrival.

"Jedi Masster Ssaba Ssebatyne," the larger Barabel addressed, raising a hand to indicate that Saba and her Wild Knights may stand back up to their full heights. "It iz good to ssee you again."

Saba gave the other Barabel a deeply respectful nod. "Az is with you, Hessta Gerlag. Thank you for allowing my team and me to take refuge within your company."

"It iss my pleasure," Gerlag replied. "Esspecially ssincce you have kept the secrecy of our basse a secret even from your Jedi Order, let alone your Galactic Alliancce."

Not long after the war ended, and the remaining Yuuzhan Vong were still being collected throughout the galaxy, Saba and the Wild Knights had investigated Barab I for any lingering Vong presences, only to discover Hessta Gerlag's underground refuge, which she and many other Barabels had taken to hiding when the Vong attacked the planet.

Upon the Wild Knights' discovery of this refuge, Gerlag had contacted Saba and asked for her to have a sit-down with her, and also insisted that neither she nor any of the other Wild Knights send any word of the refuge just yet. At the sit-down, Gerlag explained that she wanted her refuge of millions of Barabels - of which she had been elected as their Minister - to be kept secret from both the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order so that the threat of discovery by non-Barabel forces could be minimized in the future. Gerlag reasoned that it was the Yuuzhan Vong's lack of awareness of this underground refuge that saved the species from endangerment; hence, if anyone, like the GA or the Jedi, were to learn of this, then any enemies of theirs that could somehow obtain that information could very well use it to invade Gerlag's refuge.

Or, worse yet, the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order might become the next enemies of Barab I if they had such knowledge.

By her honor to the duly, if coarsely, appointed leader of Barab I, Saba kept word of the underground refuge a secret from the likes of Hamner and Cal Omas, and she made the other Wild Knights swear to keep the existence of this place to themselves as well.

"It iz not a decision that I have regretted since," Saba replied honestly. "Especially now."

"What trouble do you facce?" Gerlag asked.

"It iz a matter which forces me to say that I am no longer a Jedi Mazter," Saba said. "I have dissobeyed an order from my superior within the Jedi Order and he has not only banished me, but he haz made me and my Wild Knightz criminalz."

"What order have you dissobeyed?" Gerlag asked.

"The elimination of a fellow Jedi," Saba answered. "One who could have been redeemed and abzolved of her sinz. Mazter Hamner iz losing his way, and he must be stopped."

"I ssee," Gerlag replied in a contemplative tone. "You feel that he iss corrupting the Jedi?"

Saba nodded. "Even if he does not know it. He is blinded by his drive for peace and order, so he doez not see how he could lead the galaxy back into tyranny."

"Like the Empire?" Gerlag asked.

"Like the Empire," Saba confirmed.

"Very well," Gerlag said. "I ssuppoze that you wish to mount a rebellion againsst him?"

"Yes, but not by ourselvez. We need the help of otherz; outsiders." Saba held up both hands to halt whatever rebuttals Gerlag had in mind. "I am not saying that we should expose the location of this refuge, Hessta. But we must venture from it if we wish to seek allies, just as we would if we were to mount a rebellion on our own."

"I agree," Gerlag said. "I ssuppose that you and your Wild Knightss will be venturing out in the galaxy looking for thosse who would help?"

Saba nodded. "And perhaps otherz, so we may expand our rebellion that much faster."

"Of coursse," Gerlag replied. "I can gather some of my besst people to help you, Ssaba. We may begin right away."


	50. Chapter 50

"Thank you for meeting with me at this time, Chief Omas," Hamner said as he sat himself down in one of the two vacant guest chairs in Cal Omas's office on Denon.

"It's always a pleasure to meet with you, Master Hamner," Omas replied as he sat himself down in his own chair. "So I understand that you wish to take action against the Witches of Dathomir, according to your preliminary report?"

Hamner nodded. "After I had left the large remainder of the late Augwynne Djo's Singing Mountain Clan to flee for their lives, I understood that they would spread word of what had been done to their Witch Mother and prompt other clans to turn against the Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance."

"I assume that you tried to negotiate some kind of truce with Augwynne Djo before you were forced to kill her?" Omas asked.

"I did. However, she and her followers believed that my actions toward their corrupt number and the Nightsisters, in light of their attack on the Jedi Praxeum on the planet, were too harsh. Hence, Djo was unwilling to broker any kind of peace with us and I was forced to act."

"What do you propose that we do?"

"Return to Dathomir with a fleet at their doorstep," Hamner answered. "And to all those Witch clans that refuse to rejoin our side, their villages will be destroyed via orbital bombardment."

Omas looked uncertain at Hamner's proposition.

"You have reservations for this plan, Chief Omas?"

"I do," Omas said. "Even if the Bothans weren't a problem as they are now, and Supreme Commander Bwua'tu and I wouldn't have to worry about the divvying of military resources, I would still question the need to bombard Dathomir."

"What would you propose instead, Chief Omas?" Hamner inquired patiently.

"Well, unlike the Bothans, who could pose a danger to us as enemies, what with their intelligence gathering and genius-level techs and slicers," Omas elaborated, "which simultaneously makes them incredibly useful as allies, I might add, the Witches of Dathomir don't pose such a threat. They're isolationists who simply want to keep to their little wild planet."

"You're suggesting that we should just leave them alone."

Omas nodded. "I believe that would be the best course of action in all honesty, Master Hamner."

"In all honesty, Chief Omas, I think you are being too naive and lenient toward these Witches. They have turned their backs on the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi; to simply leave them alone is to reward them for their insubordination. That is not only a malpractice of justice for all that they have done, but it will also make the Galactic Alliance appear to be weak when it is far from that. It would thus inspire further division and insubordination among the galaxy, especially with the Bothans now turning on us."

Omas considered what Hamner said. "So you wish to commence an orbital bombardment on Dathomir to make the Witches on the planet as an example for turning their backs on the Galactic Alliance."

"Surgical bombardments, yes," Hamner said. "Ones that will target only those that have turned against us. We will give every Witch clan the chance to rejoin the Alliance; those who do not will be destroyed. I don't wish to make anyone else turn on the Alliance, or else all order and peace in the galaxy will collapse. It has not been long since the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Chief, and the galaxy needs time to continue. So this conflict at Dathomir and the war now brewing at Bothawui will fracture that peace and order little by little until there will be none of either left in the galaxy."

"That sounds a little extreme, Master Hamner," Omas commented.

"You disapprove?" Hamner asked, restraining a growl.

"I'm afraid that I'll have to," Omas said. "As much as I see your point, and agree on some of it, it's a mentality that I can't indulge; making an example of Dathomiri Witch clans by bombarding their villages from orbit sounds like something that, well..."

"Palpatine's Empire would do?" Hamner asked.

Omas sighed. "I don't mean to imply that, Master Hamner. But if we are to keep the fabric of this government strong, we can't be doing things that Palpatine's Empire did, or else we would lose even more peoples from our government. I don't want to be the Galactic Alliance Chief of State that brings the government back into the state it was when the likes of Palpatine, Vader, Tarkin, Isard, and all the Imperial warlords were running things."

"I understand, Chief Omas," Hamner said, resisting the urge to further argue with him. "So you wish to ignore Dathomir?"

Omas nodded. "At least until this whole Bothan thing is resolved. If and when it is, we may see what we can do about Dathomir, but it certainly won't involve orbital bombardments. Not while I'm in charge of the Galactic Alliance."

"Duly noted," Hamner said before standing up from his seat. "Very well, Chief Omas. I will see to it that whatever is left of the Jedi or GA presences on Dathomir will be gone and will be available to help out in the Bothan war."

"Thank you, Master Hamner," Omas said.

Hamner looked at Omas for a second longer than was necessary before turning and leaving the latter's office.

.

The night of Hapes filtered into a blue hue through the laserproof window of Tenel Ka's bedchamber. But as calming as the sight was, and as much as it reminded him of what blue meant in the Aing-Tii Force-spectrum, Jacen, in the nude, sat in embarrassment on the bed next to the similarly-undressed Tenel Ka, who had her one hand placed on his right shoulder in consolation.

"Listen, Jacen, if you are not in the mood tonight-"

He stopped her by placing a hand on hers before gently moving her hand off of him.

"I was in the mood tonight, Tenel Ka," Jacen said, not daring to look her in the eyes. "So I don't know why I, well..." He trailed off, not wanting to say anything more about his physical dysfunction.

"Is it because of Danni Quee?" Tenel Ka asked. "Was it because of what she said to you earlier today?"

Jacen sighed and looked back at the Queen Mother in shame. "Yes."

"I see," Tenel Ka said; and as Jacen looked at her, he perceived red rage mixed in with green envy in her Aing-Tii Force-aura. "And I noticed that you have not been drinking; I smell no alcohol on your breath."

Jacen shook his head. "I decided to put it off for today."

"So where did you go, if not to any of the bars?" Tenel Ka asked. "That was where you told me you were going."

"I went out for a walk," Jacen said. "Just to clear my head. I was going to a bar, but... I changed my mind."

Tenel Ka was silent for a moment. "Everything that Miss Quee said was true, was it not? How you were simply drowning your sorrow in alcohol and hedonism."

"I'm sorry, Tenel Ka," Jacen said. "I'm sorry I used you and your hospitality like this. But I didn't know what else to do or who to turn to."

Again, Tenel Ka fell silent, and Jacen braced for whatever reprimands she might give him for taking advantage of her.

"I used you, too, Jacen," she admitted. "I took advantage so that I could have you, even if I had to share you with other women, when I should have done better by seeing how I could have helped you in your trying time. For that, I owe you no apologies, just as you owe me no apologies. So consider us even."

"But what about the money you're putting into my galactic account?" Jacen asked. "You're not gonna revoke the direct deposit or anything like that?"

"As I just said, we used each other, so we are even," Tenel Ka replied. "Therefore, you will still receive money, as promised, into your account as before."

"Well, that's good to know," Jacen said, though he felt guilty that Tenel Ka would let him get off like this... figuratively speaking, of course.

"However, the arrangement that was established between us when you came to me for help," Tenel Ka said, "must end. You may continue to stay in the Fountain Palace at our discretion - and by we, I mean you and me - but you must do so while receiving psychological help from a Hapan counselor. Otherwise, you may take your alcoholism and hedonism, should you continue those lifestyles, out of the Palace, at the very least."

Jacen mulled over Tenel Ka's new offer for a while. And it was soon that he came to a realization.

"I think I'll get help elsewhere," Jacen said, "outside the Transitory Mists, even."

Tenel Ka tilted her head in inquiry. "Where will you go?"

Jacen shrugged. "Not sure. I hope I'll find it eventually."

"Well, I hope that you will at least stay away from Bothawui and Dathomir for a while," Tenel Ka said.

Jacen looked at her in concern. "Why?"

Tenel Ka looked at him in incredulity. "You do not know?" Then her expression changed when a realization occurred to her. "Ah, yes, that is right. You have not been keeping up with the news lately in your state."

She then told him about the war that the Bothans were now waging against the Galactic Alliance. And not only were the Bothans fighting against the GA in the Botahwui system, but they have been recruiting non-Bothan peoples that could be trusted - or the closest thing that could come to that when it came to Bothans - to fight off the GA for whatever reason. If it was because of lingering hatred for what was perceived to be the coddling treatment of the Yuuzhan Vong by the GA or whatever else, the Bothans brought over sympathizers to their cause, bolstering their forces in the face of the vastly larger GA war machine.

As for Dathomir, the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance pulled out their remaining presences on the planet, allowing the Witch clans there to reclaim the planet for themselves.

"Well, it sounds like I can still visit Dathomir, at least," Jacen said. "I'm not affiliated with either the Jedi or the Galactic Alliance; I'm just a regular guy, an independent just as Dathomir is again."

"Not completely independent, mind you," Tenel Ka pointed out. "You see, I'm still giving you money. And I am still a Jedi, with my duties being the running of the Hapes Consortium. Hence, you would be, in a very indirect way, still associated with the Jedi, Jacen, and should the Witches come to learn of this, they may reject you.

"Besides, I doubt that you would want to stay on Dathomir, regardless if you had the money I gave you or not. Now that the Witches can reclaim sovereignty over their world, that means that they can reinforce and reestablish their stances on men, which basically makes them second-class citizens."

"Not unlike Hapes," Jacen pointed out evenly.

"I give you special treatment," Tenel Ka countered just as evenly. "I doubt that any of the Witches on Dathomir would, and I'm not even talking about the Nightsisters, especially now that my grandmother is dead."

"Your grandmother?" Jacen asked in shock.

Tenel Ka nodded, her expression one of pain and mourning now. "I sensed it through the Force while you were gone. I did not want to burden you with this news."

"By the Force, Tenel Ka, I'm so sorry to hear that," Jacen said as he pulled her into a consoling hug.

Tenel Ka reciprocated the embrace, but her tone and expression were relatively stable. "It is hard for me now. I can still cope even if you will be gone; I did barely know my grandmother, but I do feel grief for her loss."

Jacen looked at her curiously. "Look, Tenel Ka, don't take this the wrong way, I sympathize - in fact, I _empathize_ with you for losing a family member - but... you're taking this surprisingly well."

"I am the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, Jacen," Tenel Ka replied. "I have to take this well for my people."

"Can't you just explain that you're now grieving and call for a period that will allow you to mourn the loss of your grandmother?"

"That is what I plan to do tomorrow. But again, I did not wish to burden you with this knowledge tonight."

Jacen repressed a grimace. He couldn't leave Tenel Ka now; he had to stay to help her through the loss of her grandmother any way he could. And, as she pointed out, she could have other psychiatrists help him through his own pain and grief.

He placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll stay."

Tenel Ka looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I'll stay, Tenel Ka. For you."

"Oh, Jacen, thank you," she said, breaking down into sobs as she threw her one arm around him and cried against his shoulder.

Yet, even as he consoled her for the next several minutes by simply holding her in his arms, he couldn't help but remember that day at Helska 4, at the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong War, when he had been consoling a similarly-sobbing Danni Quee.


	51. Chapter 51

Gathered in Talon Karrde's personal quarters aboard the _Wild Karrde_, Han and Leia had laid out their story to the former smuggler and had just finished asking if he would be so kind enough to grant them sanctuary amidst his company. The two Solos, who were now actually living solo, had previously diverted away from the Unknown Regions in their stolen ship and had come across the _Karrde_ and a small armada of his information trade ships, as they were now called.

"You're asking me to risk quite a lot by harboring the two of you now that you're both criminals under Galactic Alliance law," Karrde pointed out. "I'm no longer an actual smuggler, remember? The end of the last war saw to the need for some reestablishment of trade routes and communication across the galaxy thanks to the invasion. I could have very well called you in to whatever GA authorities were out there."

"But you didn't, eh, Karrde?" Han pointed out with his trademark grin. "You knew Leia and me were both fugitives, but you decided to hear us out first anyway. Don't tell me you've actually stopped smuggling for good."

Karrde shrugged. "Like I said, the galaxy still needs to repair itself. And now that the Bothans are going crazy, and so soon after the Vong were taken away, I'm not sure I could actually risk getting caught with the both of you."

"Now that doesn't sound like the Talon Karrde we've come to know," Leia said. "Your entire life has been about taking risks to accomplish your goals, even if it's just to deliver some illegal contraband past the Empire or even the New Republic."

"The war's changed a lot of us," Karrde replied grimly. "You mean to tell me it hasn't changed the both of you or the rest of your family?"

Han and Leia's moods darkened; to even think about Chewie, Anakin, or Luke was too difficult, yet denying that their deaths didn't have an impact on either of them was something they could never do. Even forgetting everyone else who died during the war, Jaina had become a battle-hardened warrior from the naive tech-loving girl while Jacen might have very well been mentally damaged beyond repair.

Karrde shook his head, as if regretting even bringing up the Yuuzhan Vong War. "Listen, for the sake of the camaraderie between all of us, especially when you vouched for me and my organization when the New Republic wanted me to mine glitterstim in the bowels of Kessel, I will help you. And besides, you might be of some help in getting the Bothans' resistance to the GA die down. It's always good to have people you can trust on your side for something like this; something that makes me a little hesitant to join this Barabel group that's been going around lately."

Han and Leia had heard about the crisis with the Bothans, now led by Traest Kre'fey, via listening in on reports that their stolen ship managed to catch, just so they would know what was going on in the galaxy. Han had thought that there would be no way that anyone could possibly be stupid enough to start something so soon after the Yuuzhan Vong War ended, but after Leia had told him that she sensed something stirring in the Force, Han had relented, knowing that when it came to his wife and her feelings through the Force, it was best to heed her words. Sure enough, vengeful _ar'krai_-crying Bothans were taking to fighting the Galactic Alliance.

This Barabel thing, however, was completely new to Han and Leia. But if this Barabel group that Karrde mentioned would be helpful, and hopefully not treacherous, then they would obviously welcome them to getting this Bothan crisis resolved.

"Han and I will do anything we can to help," Leia said formally in response to Karrde's last sentence.

"Hell, ending this thing for the Galactic Alliance might very well get us back onto their good side," Han added. "I think Omas might be able to give Leia and me a pardon and-"

Han was cut off as a knock sounded from the door outside. "Talon!" the feminine voice from the other end called.

"Come in, Shada," Karrde said.

The door parted to admit Shada D'ukal inside. In her hands, she carried a datapad that she brought to Karrde's attention.

"You're going to want to see this," she said as she handed the 'pad over to him.

As Karrde took the device from Shada, Han and Leia's eyes followed to the report that their host was now reading.

And all three of their eyes widened at the news that had been released.

.

Since Tenel Ka's announcement of her mourning for her maternal grandmother, Augwynne Djo, most of the responsibilities for running the Hapes Consortium had been temporarily shifted to the leading Duchas of the matriarchy's sixty-three worlds. Though the Queen Mother still had power to make or break decisions at her discretion, her period of mourning would lighten the weight of responsibility from her shoulders for at least an entire year.

One of those responsibilities was social interaction. It was understood that when a Queen Mother was in mourning, she might very well be emotionally unfit to deal with other Duchas, especially since Hapan treachery had become acknowledged as more of an established norm than a metaphorical bantha in the room not to be acknowledged. Hence, Tenel Ka would be sequestered in her Fountain Palace, out of the public's eye, until she thought, and knew, that she would be ready to face it all again.

Amidst the times of crying in her bedchamber over Augwynne, Tenel Ka would also occasionally venture forth into another private room that was furnished and decorated with Dathomiri memorabilia. The room even resembled one of the Witches' primitive huts for some level of authenticity.

In this room, Tenel Ka would embrace her warrior nature and practice with her lightsaber, imagining opponents for her to strike down and fight. It was not as effective as training droids or even real-life opponents, obviously, but it was enough for Tenel Ka to vent her frustrations and anxieties over her grandmother's demise.

When she was done, and sweat poured down from her body, she stepped out of the Dathomiri room and began to strip down so she would get ready for the shower, which was across her bedchamber from the Dathomiri space. It was then that there was a knock at the door.

"Milady, may I enter?" the voice of one of Tenel Ka's chamberlains, Klira, asked from the other side. "You have an urgent message."

"From whom?" Tenel Ka asked.

"Jedi Master Tresina Lobi."

Reluctantly, Tenel Ka dressed herself back up before heading to the door to open it. Upon receiving Klira, who offered up a portable holocomm to her Queen Mother, the latter took it and activated it. Lobi's miniature holographic form appeared.

"Your Majesty," Lobi said without bowing, "I am sorry about your grandmother's death."

"You should not be sorry, Master Lobi. Master Hamner should be, since he openly admitted to killing my grandmother," Tenel Ka said with a growl.

"But would you still follow his orders, Jedi Djo?" Lobi asked.

Tenel Ka sighed. "As a Jedi Knight, yes. And in spite of my personal feelings toward Augwynne Djo's death, I still bear the responsibility of carrying out my duties, and that means following whatever Master Hamner has in mind."

"Excellent," Lobi said with a smile. "He wants you to come to Denon."

"What for?"

Lobi's expression lowered at Tenel Ka's insolent tone, only to perk back up to a more formal output. "To attend Cal Omas's funeral, of course."

"Funeral?" Tenel Ka asked in shock. "Cal Omas is dead?"

Lobi nodded, not surprised that Tenel Ka sheltered herself from the outside galaxy while she mourned Augwynne Djo.

"He," Lobi said, referring to Omas, "died just this morning on Denon. He was in his office, and when he didn't respond to his secretary to take in a call from a Senator, the secretary checked and found him in his office chair, dead. The coroner reports that it was a heart attack of natural origin; she presumes that it was caused by a combination of Omas's advanced years and stress caused by ruling the Galactic Alliance just as it was brought into yet another war.

"Master Hamner asks that you come to Denon and pay your respects to Chief Omas, as is proper for a Jedi."

"Why does Master Hamner not address me himself?" Tenel Ka demanded.

"Because he understands that you would not want to see him while you are grieving," Lobi pointed out.

Tenel Ka could not help but snort. "He understands well. Very well, out of respect for Cal Omas, I shall attend his funeral."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Lobi said. "It will take place within one week. I will leave you to your preparations for your travel." She then signed off.

Tenel Ka handed the holocomm back to Klira and took out her personal commlink, keying it to one of her cousins' transmissions.

"Trista," the Queen Mother said, "I will be departing for Denon; Cal Omas's funeral is taking place next week. See to the preparations, cousin."

"Very well, Your Majesty," Trista replied before Tenel Ka signed off.

The Queen Mother then waited at her dresser drawer, and just as she allowed her royal servants to come in to collect her things for the Denon trip, Jacen also entered in from behind them.

"What's going on?" he asked Tenel Ka.

"Cal Omas has died, in case you have not heard," Tenel Ka explained. "Preparations are being made for my travel to Denon for his funeral."

"Oh," Jacen said awkwardly. "Well... I guess I should come, too, to my own respects to Omas."

Tenel Ka knew what Jacen left unsaid and did not want to give him anymore reminders about how he had failed to pay his own respects to his fallen uncle. But more than anything, Tenel Ka knew that Jacen would be there for her to continue to support her in her time of grieving over Augwynne; otherwise, she doubted that he would have had any reason to be attend the funeral of the GA Chief of State, with whom he had no special connection.

Still, Tenel Ka was glad that Jacen was coming along; and hopefully, he would be able to stop her from killing Hamner if she was not able to help herself in time.


	52. Chapter 52

Cal Omas's funeral procession, for all of its bombastic music and extensive publicity, was otherwise peaceful and somber... unlike Jedi Master Kenth Hamner's thoughts.

_You have taken this too far_, a part of Hamner thought to himself.

_I did what was necessary_, the other part - the dominant part of Hamner's conscious - argued. _Omas wasn't willing to do what needed to be done. He was too lenient in his decisions for what to do with the Dathomiri Witches and the Bothans_.

_This is still wrong_, the Jedi part of Hamner replied. _You took a life to further your own goals; something that a Sith like Palpatine would have done._

_I am not like Palpatine!_ the Master part of Hamner countered. _What I do, I do for the Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance._

_If you think that, then Omas was right. You're doing things that Palpatine would have done._

_Palpatine was a selfish megalomaniac; I put the consideration of the galaxy's future before my own well-being in all my actions. _I_ am right in what I do. And I will see to it that the next leader of the Galactic Alliance understands that I'm right_.

_You'll be making him or her into a puppet ruler; you will be running the lives of others, something that a Jedi should never do. We protect and serve, not rule and dominate._

_In this time, that will be what is needed. Already, we see the galaxy spinning back into chaos, and so soon after we had just finished one of the most brutal wars in history! Maybe it _is _time for some Jedi leadership over the galaxy_.

_You need to stop this. Just think back to when you took Omas's life, Kenth Hamner. You reached out to him, hiding your presence so no other Jedi on Denon could sense what you were about to do, and you used the Force to give Omas a heart attack. You used the Force to kill; now that is something that Darth Vader would have done_.

_I was left no other choice but to use the Force to kill Omas_!

_You had the choice of continuing to follow his leadership. You chose not to. You have no one to blame but yourself for what you did._

_I know that better than you think, damn it!_

The opposing voice in Hamner's head fell silent, and he was brought back to the reality of the funeral procession before him.

He was seated in the back of one of the Jedi Order's standard issue airspeeders while Jedi Knight Barratk'l was piloting. In the immediate area around him, other Jedi - Masters, Knights, and apprentices alike - were also all in airspeeders or other hovervehicles, silent and respectful of Omas's passing.

A large majority of the Order was present; all of the Masters were certainly here, as well as multiple apprentices and Knights, including Jaina Solo, who had just returned from her leave of absence on Zonama Sekot and was now several airspeeders over to Hamner's right. In spite of his appreciation for order and peace, Hamner couldn't help but wonder why Solo wasn't at all resentful for her parents now being fugitives, especially since they were on the run because of him specifically. And considering how Solo was likened to her criminal father in terms of personality by others, namely by Jedi pilots whom she had worked with during the Yuuzhan Vong War, it made Hamner all the more questioning of the young woman's motives.

The same went to Tenel Ka, who was in her private tinted airspeeder on the opposite side of the funeral procession from Hamner's speeder. He sensed that she was inside, but that was all that he could sense of the Queen Mother. She hid her feelings well, Hamner thought, as he knew from Tresina Lobi's report from her holotransmission with Tenel Ka that the Queen Mother did, in fact, harbor a grudge against Hamner for killing her grandmother Augwynne Djo.

Hamner thought about reaching out to Jaina Solo through the Force, at the very least, to learn why she voiced no complaints about her parents' fugitive statuses. After Saba Sebatyne and her Wild Knights' unified decision to turn their backs on the Jedi and the GA, Hamner knew that if he lost more Jedi who thought that principle counted more than practicality, he would only lose more and more until he had a Jedi Order waging a civil war, for all intents and purposes, against their disowned, turncoat brethren.

But Hamner ultimately decided against it; he would question Solo later. Right now was a time for mourning, and he had likely skirted the line in trying to touch Tenel Ka's presence.

"Master Hamner?"

He was brought out of his musings at the sound of the Yuzzem pilot's voice.

"Uh... yes, Jedi Barrtak'l?"

"You seem troubled," she responded as she looked back at Hamner through her rear viewport. "Is something wrong?"

"No more wrong than what has already happened," Hamner told her, nodding in the direction of the procession.

"I see. I presume that you knew Chief Omas well?"

"Well enough," Hamner stated. "We did meet several times as leaders of our respective organizations, after all, since the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War."

"Indeed. What a shame; another fallen son of Alderaan. I had heard that that world was beautiful; I think sometimes, when an Alderaanian dies, Master Hamner, a connection to the past is lost. Oh, sure, there are records and historical texts about Alderaan, but... there is something truly special that is lost when someone who had been to that world firsthand passes into the Force."

Alderaan. Yet another connection to link Hamner to the Empire, he thought uncomfortably.

"Thank you for your thoughts, Jedi Barratk'l," Hamner said in a formal tone, addressing her as if she were still a student of his.

No more was said until the procession finally stopped, with the vehicle carrying Omas's prepared body having reached its destination, the crematory in which the deceased Chief of State would be burned to ash.

Master Hamner shared a few thoughts, as did Admiral Bwua'tu and others in Omas's cabinet as they all lamented the man's loss. But where Hamner knew that everyone else who had spoken felt at least a mild sense of genuine grief, Hamner himself felt no grief, but only guilt; while he still thought that what he had done was necessary, he felt ashamed that he, Cal Omas's killer - his _murderer_ \- should have the right to stand up on the podium and deliver a few brief thoughts about the Chief of State's death.

Nevertheless, Hamner said his empty platitudes, which sounded more hollow to his soul than it probably did to anyone who had listened, and watched as Omas's remains were set aflame and gradually burned away.

When Omas was finally ash, his daughter, Elya, collected his remains in an urn, and Hamner's feeling of guilt only increased as he watched the woman take up what was left of her father and piling it all into that small metal container; it was obvious that she trying not to cry.

The part of Hamner that thought that all he was doing was wrong wanted to apologize to Elya for the murder of her father and to turn himself in. But the other part of him, the part that was ever dominant, told him that Elya's suffering would not only pass in due time, but was nothing more than an inevitable effect that bringing peace to the Galactic Alliance would ultimately have.

After everyone had filed out of the crematory and proceeded back to their vehicles to either return home or to their jobs, they all stopped when a giant blue-tinted hologram of Traest Kre'fey's face appeared on top of the GA Building where Omas had worked.

"Citizens of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances," Kre'fey's broadcasted voice called out, "as many of you may know, I am retired Supreme Commander Traest Kre'fey, formerly of your government and now on the side of what is now known as the Bothan Confederation, currently at war with the Galactic Alliance. I am making this broadcast to all of you, in the wake of Chief of State Omas's death, to tell all of you this before you consider casting your vote for your next commander in chief: Cal Omas's election into his role as the last Chief of State of the New Republic during the last war has recently been discovered by my people to have been fraudulent. Therefore, the government that he had founded since his election as Chief of State, your Galactic Alliance, is illegal and must be replaced by a rightful government."


	53. Chapter 53

Following Kre'fey's HoloNet announcement that Cal Omas's election as the last New Republic Chief of State - a title which carried on when the Galactic Alliance was later founded during the Yuuzhan Vong War - was fraudulent, information elucidating Kre'fey's claim was released in greater detail across the HoloNet.

According to the presented information, back when Omas and Commenor Senator Fyor Rodan were contending for the position of Chief of State in the wake of Borsk Fey'lya's death - and the acknowledgement that Senator Pwoe's claim to the title was unfounded - Rodan had actually been in the running for winning the election.

However, Rodan's victory would have meant that the New Republic would have officially given up their support on the Jedi Order in the efforts against the Yuuzhan Vong. Hence, Omas, Luke Skywalker, and their allies looked to Lando Calrissian and Talon Karrde to dig up dirt on various corrupt senators, prompting - some, if not most, would say coercing - them to shift their support from Rodan to Omas, thus ensuring the latter's victory in what turned out to be a rigged election.

Obviously, in the wake of the release of this information, the Galactic Alliance had been informing the public throughout the HoloNet that the information presented to them was false and was nothing more than a psychological ploy on the part of the Bothans to further create unrest in the government. The fact that this information was released following Cal Omas's funeral was something that was questioned by several civilian public supporters of the GA's stance on the released information throughout various news outlets. Thus, the idea that this was a Bothan psychological trick was not entirely mocked by the general public.

But Hamner knew that it wasn't a trick. As a member of Omas's High Council during the war, Hamner had been privy to the unofficial fact that Calrissian and Karrde had made those blackmails for Omas's benefit and, by extension, the benefit of the Jedi Order.

Like the lie that he had to live with now in pretending that he didn't kill Omas, Hamner had kept the fact of Calrissian and Karrde's blackmails a secret. But then, that was a secret that Hamner didn't have to live with on his own; as well, he didn't need to convince himself that it was a righteous thing to abet, especially since Omas's leadership of the Galactic Alliance led to the government's victory over the Yuuzhan Vong.

But now that the secret of the blackmails had been revealed for all to either accept or deny - and it was found that many were accepting it quite vehemently - Hamner wondered how long it would be before he, too, would be exposed for murdering Omas. He hoped it would never happen, but if it did, he hoped that he would at least be dead by then.

Still, now more than ever, he had to keep it together. The Jedi Order needed leadership, and so did the Galactic Alliance, especially since the galaxy was plunging back into war.

Thankfully, though, Hamner had an ace up his sleeve that he was about to share to his two compatriots, and he hoped that once it was implemented, he might be able to sleep a lot better.

Once again seated in one of the two guest chairs in what was once Cal Omas's office, Hamner sat opposite to the emergency Chief of State - formerly the Galactic Alliance's Minister of State Releqy A'Kla - about what had to be done next. This time, however, Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu sat in the chair next to him, preparing to hear what Hamner had to say.

"So, Master Hamner, you claim that you have found a way that will surely end this crisis with the Bothans?" A'Kla asked.

Hamner nodded. "I had Master Tresina Lobi to ask Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo, who was present during the funeral, to lend a portion of her fleet to aiding our military effort, considering that Her Majesty is a Jedi Knight and is thus obligated to serve the Order. However, upon meeting with Tenel Ka, Master Lobi found that Jacen Solo was with the Queen Mother, a fact that Master Lobi informed me about after she had confirmed that Her Majesty would give us aid in our war against the Bothans.

"To elucidate, as I presume that the both of you are unaware of this, Chief A'Kla and Commander Bwua'tu, Jacen Solo, following his resignation from the Jedi Order, went on a brief sojourn in which he learned from at least two Force sects, one of which was the Order of the Aing-Tii monks. Now the Aing-Tii monks have a special power in the Force that we Jedi have not mastered, which is the use of teleportation.

"Jacen Solo had learned of this method and had used it to defend Zonama Sekot by the first wave of Bothans who tried to attack the planet; and he did it by teleporting concussion missiles from his own ship into the core power rooms of the invading Assault Cruisers."

A'Kla and Bwua'tu's eyes both widened at this news.

"For this," Hamner continued, "I personally contacted Tenel Ka myself and asked to speak with Jacen." He didn't voice it to either the Chief of State or Supreme Commander, but he still remembered the look of utter hatred that Tenel Ka gave him through their holographic transmission, and her barely restrained tone of anger directed at him in her few terse words.

"Her Majesty agreed," Hamner said, not adding that it was obviously reluctant on her part, "and I talked to Jacen. Seeing as how he wasn't a Jedi anymore, he was in no way obliged to serve either the Jedi Order nor the Galactic Alliance, but I managed to convince him to help us end this conflict."

"Pardon me, Master Hamner," Bwua'tu said, "but you're not _really_ suggesting that we use Jacen Solo to teleport concussion missiles from our fleet aboard the Bothan Assault Cruisers simply to end this new war? We would be putting the entire species into endangerment!"

Hamner shook his head. "Jacen shared your thoughts, as a matter of fact, Commander Bwua'tu. That's why I convinced him that we would use his presence in the Bothawui system as a deterrent. I doubt that even Admiral Kre'fey would have the gall to continue waging war against this government if we had Jacen Solo on our side again."

"Don't be so sure about that, Master Hamner," Bwua'tu said. "While Solo has been known as an active participant in the Yuuzhan Vong War, his thoughts and feelings regarding death and destruction are well-known; like the rest of the Jedi, he was against Dif Scaur's utilization of the Alpha Red pathogen against the Yuuzhan Vong. Kre'fey will know that Solo won't be able to do it - at least not again - and he'll see right through the ruse."

"But the fact that Jacen has done it before," Hamner pointed out, "should let Kre'fey know that we have quite a powerful weapon on our side."

"It may give Admiral Kre'fey pause," A'Kla chimed in, "but I doubt that he'll surrender. Or at least I doubt that the entirety of the Bothan species will be willing to surrender so easily."

"And if Kre'fey refuses to surrender," Bwua'tu added, "I doubt Solo will be so willing to do what he did to Commander Reh'mwa and his forces just to win this conflict for us. As well, he can back out at anytime he likes; he's not officially affiliated with either the Galactic Alliance or the Jedi Order, as you pointed out, Master Hamner."

"That's why I have a Plan B, Commander," Hamner said, "and it will also involve Jacen and his ability to utilize teleportation. Obviously, since I'm bringing this plan up, Jacen has also agreed to it if Kre'fey and the rest of his people are unwilling to surrender."

"And that is?" Bwua'tu asked.

"He'll teleport a team of Jedi aboard Kre'fey's Assault Cruiser," Hamner elaborated. "This team will do what they can and have to - kill or incapacitate - aboard the Assault Cruiser until they take it over. Jacen is more willing to participate if wholesale slaughter isn't involved, by the way. By then, Kre'fey will either be dead or will have unwillingly surrendered."

"We'll need him alive," Bwua'tu immediately said. "If we have any hope of convincing the rest of the Bothan species, if not the vast majority of them, to cease this stupid war, we'll need Kre'fey, just like we needed Nas Choka to convince the Yuuzhan Vong to surrender after their Supreme Overlord died."

"Of course," Hamner agreed evenly.

"The only thing we need to know now," A'Kla said, "is which Assault Cruiser Kre'fey is aboard. Commander, is this in your records aboard the _Ralroost_?"

Bwua'tu shook his head. "It's unknown which ship Kre'fey's commanding from, Chief A'Kla. And with the Bothans' airtight encryption systems in their communications, we weren't able to determine which ship he commands from."

"That won't be necessary," Hamner said. "Jacen has met Kre'fey several times before. He can simply seek his familiar presence out through the Force and locate him for us. At that point, if Plan B is necessary, he'll know where to transport the Jedi team to capture Kre'fey."

A'Kla and Bwua'tu were both silent for a moment as they considered Hamner's words.

"This plan may work," A'Kla said.

"I agree," Bwua'tu said.

"It will work," Hamner assured them.


	54. Chapter 54

After finishing up with all the checkups aboard the _Jade Shadow_, which were needed for the launch to the Bothawui system in a couple of hours, Mara took to her ship's bedroom, and there, she allowed herself to sit on the bed that she and her husband had once shared and cry for a bit as she regarded a holopic of Luke.

It thankfully didn't last long, and she closed down the pic from her datapad when she heard a knock echo throughout the quietness of the _Shadow_. She managed to stand up and wipe the tears from her eyes as she went to see to her visitor, whom she had already sensed through the Force.

At the bottom of the boarding ramp that she lowered, Mara met with Jaina.

"Hey, Jaina. What's up?"

Jaina sighed. "Aunt Mara, can I please speak to you aboard the _Shadow_?"

Mara looked curious, but nodded. "Sure. Come on in."

Once the two women were aboard the ship, Jaina had the boarding ramp raised back against the _Shadow_, sealing it off from the Jedi Temple's hangar bay.

"Jaina, what's going on?" Mara asked as her niece took out a scanner from her utility belt and began running it all across the hull of the vessel.

"Oh, you know, with what Bothan spies can do these days, Aunt Mara, you can never be too careful," Jaina replied nonchalantly as she combed the ship with her scanner. "Especially with this war with 'em. Sneaky bastards can rig this ship as a listening post if they put their minds to it."

"Is that something that's happening now?" Mara asked worriedly.

"Probably not, but who knows," Jaina answered.

From Jaina's evasive tone, and the way that her niece was keeping her Force-presence tight around her - a strong indicator that she didn't want her intentions to be sensed - Mara figured that it might be useful to play along.

"Oh, well, if you feel that it's necessary, Jaina, by all means, make sure none of those Bothans have any chance of listening in on what we have to say," Mara said as casually as her niece.

With that, they didn't say anything more to each other until Jaina had swept through Mara's bedroom, concluding her search as she turned off the scanner and replaced it in her belt.

"Okay, what's going on, Jaina?"

"Like I said, I was just making sure we weren't being listened," Jaina answered.

"But if you had feared that there really were Bothans listening in on us," Mara said, "you wouldn't have been talking about them so openly. Which means that you feared that someone else was listening in. Who?"

"Master Hamner," Jaina answered grimly.

Mara fell silent at what her niece just said. "Hamner?"

"Look, Aunt Mara, I know he's the leading Jedi Master, but with what he's been doing lately, I'm afraid that that might not be a good thing."

"This is about more than making your parents fugitives, isn't it?" Mara asked. "You're also thinking about how he handled things on Dathomir with Kirana Ti and Augwynne Djo."

Jaina nodded. "He has a heavy presence around him. It's not dark, per se, but it's definitely something that we should be worrying about. I sense a great deal of guilt around him that he's trying to hide, and it was pretty high when he was at Cal Omas's funeral."

"What are you saying?"

Jaina licked her lips in nervousness. "I think Hamner killed Omas."

Again, Mara fell silent for a moment. "Even ignoring the fact that this completely goes against what the Jedi Order stands for for the moment, why would Hamner want to kill Omas?"

"You know what Hamner's like," Jaina elaborated. "He's more of a military man than a Jedi Master. The way he does things, like on Dathomir... they're ruthless, Aunt Mara."

"Saba Sebatyne had agreed with Hamner about hunting down corrupt Witches and Nightsisters after the Dathomir Praxeum fell," Mara pointed out. "And look where that led her."

"Only because she refused to go after Kirana Ti," Jaina said, "who Hamner later killed."

"Fair point. But it wasn't like Hamner wiped out whole villages after killing Augwynne Djo," Mara pointed out.

"And I think that's where Omas came in."

"You believe he was the one who reigned Hamner in from doing anything to the Witches of Dathomir?"

Jaina nodded.

"But Releqy A'Kla is now in control of the Galactic Alliance. She's in no more agreement about extreme measures than Omas was. And if you mean to tell me that Hamner would somehow corrupt A'Kla's mind using the Force, why wouldn't he have done it to Omas instead? Why kill him? Do you think Omas was too strong-willed and A'Kla too weak-minded?"

"I didn't sense weak-mindedness in Omas, nor do I sense that in A'Kla, Aunt Mara," Jaina said. "But if I could hazard a guess, it's because Omas was more experienced. A'Kla's new at this, and I think that her being green, as it were, allows for more wiggling room for Hamner to manipulate."

"If that's true, how do you think Hamner would go about this Jaina, Force-influencing aside?" Mara asked. "He'd have to try real hard to get her to agree to something like orbital bombardment of primitive villages on a backwater world like Dathomir."

Jaina thought for a moment, and Mara crossed her arms as she waited her niece to come up with an answer.

"He'll show her," Jaina said.

"What?"

"He'll show her," Jaina repeated. "Hamner will make A'Kla see the 'necessity' of excessive force."

"How?"

"Probably - most likely - with the crisis going on over at Bothawui," Jaina said.

"The Bothans are one thing, Jaina," Mara said. "They're powerful, with warships that can match the power of Galactic Alliance warships. The Dathomiri Witches only have the Force.

"You and I both know that warships and big laser guns are insignificant next to the power of the Force, Aunt Mara. And so does Hamner."

"Maybe. But A'Kla would be more doubtful of that, and that'll make it harder, if not outright impossible, for Hamner to convince her that the Dathomiri Witches need to be made an example of for turning their backs on the GA and the Order."

Jaina was silent as she puzzled a possible way for Hamner to convince A'Kla to go after the Witches once the threat of the Bothans was no more. But she found that there was no plausible way.

"Listen, Jaina, Hamner does seem a lot more... on edge than usual. But he's still a dedicated Jedi, that much is certain. I still have a hard time believing that he would do something like this, so whatever you wanna do or think you're gonna do, don't do it. Especially not when it would jeopardize the resolution of this Bothan war. Is that understood?"

Jaina grimaced.

"Is that _understood_?" Mara emphasized.

Jaina nodded reluctantly. "It's understood, Aunt Mara."

Mara placed a hand on Jaina's shoulder. "I know this is hard, especially since your parents are criminals... again, I should probably add. But I'll make you a deal; I'll make a little investigation into Hamner myself when the Bothan war is resolved. If I find anything on him, I'll make sure to tell you about it first thing."

"Let's hope that you'll find it," Jaina said, "before anyone innocent gets hurt by Jedi Master Kenth Hamner."


	55. Chapter 55

Seconds after Jacen had agreed with Kenth Hamner via holocomm transmission over how to end the conflict with the Bothans, he turned to the Queen Mother and said, "Tenel Ka, I want you to meet Tadar'Ro."

Tenel Ka was about to ask Jacen whom he was talking about when an opaque spherical cocoon suddenly appeared in the quarters that she shared with Jacen aboard the Hapan Battle Dragon _Dragon Queen_. She started for a moment, and again after the cocoon disappeared to reveal a creature that she had never seen before.

"Tadar'Ro is part of the Aing-Tii monks," Jacen elaborated. "He trained me in his ways. But I never had the chance to complete my training." He looked over to the Aing-Tii. "Tadar'Ro, this is Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo of the Hapes Consortium."

Tadar'Ro gave Tenel Ka a gracious bow with his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," Jorj Car'das's voice said politely enough through Tadar'Ro's translator device around his neck.

"Likewise," Tenel Ka replied simply with a courteous bow of her own head.

"I am grateful that you allowed for me to meet with you, Jacen," Tadar'Ro said. "And considering the defenses around Denon, I did not wish to alarm any of the Galactic Alliance forces in the system."

"Understandable," Jacen acknowledged. He looked back to Tenel Ka to elaborate some more. "Just before Master Hamner contacted us, Tadar'Ro contacted me through the Force several systems away and asked to meet with me. I agreed; I hope you don't mind, Tenel Ka."

She shook her head. "Not at all, Jacen. But may I know why you two are meeting?"

"I'd like to know that, too," Jacen replied as he turned back to the Aing-Tii. "I thought you said that the Aing-Tii didn't wanna see me again."

"My people do not," Tadar'Ro said. "But at this point, it does not seem like they wish to unite in peace. The corruption that you have felt through the Force, Jacen, is one that has spread among all of my people, and the Aing-Tii have actually gone to war to see how they could possibly solve it."

"War?" Jacen asked worriedly.

Tadar'Ro nodded for Jacen's benefit. "One faction believes that we must venture out into the rest of the galaxy, break from our isolationist policy, so that we may cure the Force of this corruption. The other faction wishes to remain where we are, or by venturing out here, we would only further the corruption."

"Which side are you on, Tadar'Ro?" Tenel Ka asked.

The Aing-Tii looked at her. "I am for the side that only wishes for peace and balance through the Force. Unfortunately, neither side is willing to come to an agreement, and they further their own corruption among themselves."

"So you came back to get me again to try to help your people?" Jacen asked. "Sorry, Tadar'Ro, but like you said, they won't accept me."

"I did not come back to you, Jacen, so that I could bring you back to my people," Tadar'Ro said. "I am only here to help you complete your training."

"Why?" Jacen asked. "You still believe I have a special destiny with the Force, Tadar'Ro? Even after I said that there may be something wrong with it?"

"From how I see it, Jacen, it is not the Force that has something wrong with it; it is you. Yet, even though I do not know what exactly your destiny is with it, I know that you are the one to fulfill it, just as you had when you ended the Yuuzhan Vong War."

"Oh, there's quite a lot wrong with me, Tadar'Ro," Jacen agreed with a mirthless grin. "So I doubt the Force has any kind of special destiny for me."

While Tadar'Ro exhibited no physical expression of disappointment, his Force-aura glowed with it.

"But since you came all this way out here, leaving your people the way they are," Jacen followed up, "I guess finishing my training with you could be useful, I guess I still have some time before the fleet launches for Bothawui. And it can even help me teleport others, as you told me before I left your homeworld last."

"Thank you, Jacen," Tadar'Ro said. "Now please, sit. Her Majesty may watch if she desires."

Jacen then sat on the floor cross-legged, and Tenel Ka followed, and he awaited Tadar'Ro's instructions.

.

The Galactic Alliance fleet that was still in the midst of exchanging fire, both through the turbolasers of their capital warships and the dogfights of their respective starfighters, against the Bothan defense of the latter's homeworld was soon aided by the arrival of a new fleet that dropped out of hyperspace.

But instead of this new fleet, commanded by Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu himself, opening fire or allowing any starfighters to drop free of their hangar bays, Bwua'tu, seated in his command chair aboard the only GA Bothan Assault Cruiser _Ralroost_, opened up a decrypted line for everyone, GA and Bothan-sided, to hear.

"This is Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances Navy," he said. "I send this message out to the Bothans who defend their home system and to their allies: I have Jacen Solo, the man who managed to destroy the vessels that you brought to bear against Zonama Sekot single-handed, on the side of the Galactic Alliance." He paused to look up and over to Jacen, who stood stoically by with Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo and a duo of Hapan bodyguards.

Bwua'tu turned back to conclude his systemwide message. "Surrender now, and the rest of you will not have to die. To Admiral Traest Kre'fey, if you wish to contact me to discuss the terms of your surrender, here is my holocomm transmission number." He then rattled off a string of numbers. "I hope to hear from you soon, Admiral."

Almost immediately, the Bothan Assault Cruisers and the ragtag group of warships aiding them ceased fire, and the starfighters on their side pulled out of their dogfights to beat a hasty retreat back to the capital vessels. As well, all GA military vessels ceased their own firings.

Soon after, a transmission was sent to the holocomm in Bwua'tu's command chair, and he activated it to find Traest Kre'fey's blue-tinted form staring back at him as predicted.

"I want to see and hear that you have Jacen Solo first, Commander Bwua'tu," Kre'fey said without preamble.

"I will oblige," Bwua'tu said, "but if I do, what's to stop you, Admiral, from believing that Solo's appearance is fake?"

"I have holotechs now waiting on standby who are ready to determine if the person I'm about to see as Jacen Solo is fake or not, Commander," Kre'fey said.

"Very well then, Admiral," Bwua'tu replied before shifting focus of the holocam over to Jacen.

"Jacen Solo," Kre'fey said, "how pleasant to see you again, even under these circumstances. I'm surprised that you'd be willing to aid the Galactic Alliance after your falling-out with the Jedi Order."

"What the Bothans are doing right now, Admiral," Jacen said resolutely, "is wrong. And I do what I have to to make sure that the galaxy doesn't fall back into war again."

"And you, a vehement opponent of the use of the Alpha Red pathogen against the Yuuzhan Vong in the war against them," Kre'fey pointed out, "say that you would do anything to see to it that the conflict between my people and the Alliance will come to an end? Come now, you may have very well defended Zonama Sekot from Commander Reh'mwa and his forces by destroying them, but I somehow doubt that you would have the gall to do it again on my fleet."

At that, Bwua'tu shifted the cam focus back on himself. "Did your holotechs get what they needed to confirm that this is the real Jacen Solo, Admiral?"

Kre'fey looked off to the side, as if addressing someone, and a moment later, he returned with, "Yes, they did. This is the real deal. However, as I just said, I have my doubts that he would be able to actually teleport concussion missiles into the power rooms of our Assault Cruisers, not because he'd be physically incapable, but because of his... _sensitivity_. I'm quite sure that what he did to Commander Reh'mwa's forces is something that young Solo won't wish to repeat."

Before Bwua'tu could reply, he was unexpectedly cut off. "You're right, Admiral," Jacen said. "I won't. But I won't need to."

"And what do you think," Kre'fey began to ask, "you can do that would fit in with your morality while also serving out the Galactic Alliance's purposes, young So-"

But Kre'fey was cut off from saying anymore, because while he was talking, Jacen had closed his eyes and concentrated; through the Force, he reached out to the half-dozen Jedi Knights who were in the room behind him, Tenel Ka, and their boydguards, forming a big protective cocoon around all six Knights. Jacen then transported that cocoon over to where he felt Kre'fey's presence to be, which was aboard the bridge of his Assault Cruiser across the Bothawui system.

And that was when Kre'fey was cut off from saying anymore; from Bwua'tu's side, he and everyone else on the _Ralroost_'s bridge could hear the activations of several lightsabers and the panicked screams of several Bothans. Kre'fey's shocked expression at something outside the Bwua'tu's holocomm's line of sight explained it all as the sounds of blasters going off was heard; Kre'fey then disappeared from the holocomm, having bolted away from his own command chair.

Bwua'tu then sat back, allowing himself at least a moment of leisure, before Kre'fey came back in sight, with the blade of a lightsaber - its color undetermined because of the holocomm's universal blue tinting - now held near the admiral's throat.

The owner of the lightsaber, a young woman, soon appeared on the holocomm, her lightsaber between herself and Kre'fey.

"We've secured the bridge, Commander Bwua'tu," Jedi Knight Nelani Dinn reported. "None of the soldiers aboard the rest of the Assault Cruiser can get in; at least not in the next few minutes."

"Excellent," Bwua'tu commented. "Now, Admiral Kre'fey, will you reconsider my offer of surrender?"

Kre'fey's expression was unreadable. "Allow me to contact my fleet, Commander Bwua'tu."

"Very well," Bwua'tu allowed.

A second later, Kre'fey said, "All forces... keep fighting after I'm dead."

Everyone on the _Ralroost_'s bridge, as well as Nelani from the other end, all widened their eyes in surprise.

"This is Admiral Traest Kre'fey's final transmission," Kre'fey said.

Then he threw himself forward, decapitating himself on Nelani's lightsaber.

"No!" Jacen gasped.

Everyone else fell dead silent; then the Bothan Assault Cruisers opened fire again.


	56. Chapter 56

Immediately after the Bothan warships began firing on the Galactic Alliance line, Jacen closed his eyes and concentrated, enfolding the six Jedi Knights aboard the now-late Admiral Traest Kre'fey's Assault Cruiser in protective cocoons before teleporting them back aboard the bridge of the _Ralroost_. Jacen then teleported the cocoons out of existence, freeing the half-dozen Jedi who were still in shock at what Kre'fey had done; especially Nelani Diin, who looked as if she had just failed the entire galaxy.

"Jacen, you have to stop this!" Bwua'tu told him as the _Ralroost_ rocked from the impacts of enemy fire. "I'm sorry that this goes against everything you believe in, but you have to destroy those Assault Cruisers and their allying ships! Teleport those concussion missiles into their core power rooms and blow them up now!"

"No," Jacen denied stubbornly.

"Well, at least destroy _a few_ of those Assault Cruisers!" Bwua'tu practically begged.

"No," Jacen denied again. "I did what I could. But even if I were to do as you say, Commander Bwua'tu, it would not lead to peace."

"It would end this conflict!" Bwua'tu argued.

"But for how long?" Jacen retorted. "With Kre'fey gone, the Bothans won't stop. And if I were to have destroyed those ships as you asked, the Bothans will only simmer down for a short time before they eventually carry out their vengeance in some other way. Do you honestly believe that me killing every Bothan fighting us right now is going to make things better, Commander? What about the friends and families they have back on Bothawui? You think they'll just stand down and lay their bellies open before us? You think they won't seek retribution for the lives that we take?"

"It would at least allow us to get some measure of peace!" Bwua'tu argued further. "Especially now that our government's legitimacy is being questioned by the populace on Denon and on all the other GA worlds!"

"I won't let peace come about because of death," Jacen said. "Not again. It's too painful for me. And besides, if the legitimacy of the Galactic Alliance is being questioned, then maybe it should."

"You're doing more harm through your pacifism than any harm you could do through what actions you would take, Solo!" Bwua'tu growled.

"If I were to do what you asked, Commander Bwua'tu," Jacen said, "it would do more harm to my soul; and I could become a very dangerous enemy to you if my soul were broken."

"Is that a threat?" Bwua'tu asked warily.

"It's a warning," Jacen replied evenly.

"They sound like one and the same to me," Bwua'tu replied, still wary.

"From a certain point of view, I guess they could be," Jacen said with a shrug.

"So you'll just let this war continue?!" Bwua'tu asked in shock.

"I don't have to let this war continue anymore than you have to, Commander," Jacen replied.

Bwua'tu looked at Jacen in confusion. "Then what course of action do you think we should take, Jacen?"

"Simple, Commander; let your people secede from the Galactic Alliance," Jacen suggested.

Bwua'tu's look of confusion instantly inflated to one of shock. "What?!"

"If I'm understanding this correctly," Jacen began, "the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, like the New and Old Republics before it, are about freedom; freedom from tyrannical dictatorships like the Sith. Freedom of expression, freedom of choice; and a choice that should be made is whether or not a planetary government even wants to be part of the Galactic Alliance anymore."

Bwua'tu, evidently disregarding Jacen's suggestion, looked from Jacen to Tenel Ka. "Your Majesty, I request that you order Jacen Solo to end this conflict right now by transporting those concussion missiles aboard-"

"Even if I were willing to comply," Tenel Ka interrupted, "Jacen Solo is no more of a citizen of Hapes than he is of either the Galactic Alliance or the Jedi Order, so he is under no more obligation to listen to me anyway, just as he has no obligation to listen to you."

Bwua'tu growled again as he looked back at Jacen. "If you honestly believe that the Bothans will simply keep to themselves, even if the Galactic Alliance does offer them sovereignty, Solo, you're a fool. As you even pointed out, the Bothans will seek vengeance for what has been done to them, and no peace treaty that can be organized between our government and theirs will stop them from doing all they can to destroy us!"

"I see you're not giving peace a chance, Commander," Jacen observed in a neutral tone.

"Even if I were confident that the Bothans won't seek retribution for the actions against them," Bwua'tu said, "this peaceful solution that you suggest could be the beginning of the end of the Galactic Alliance. If we allow anyone who simply wants to leave the GA to just leave, then the galaxy becomes all the more weaker and fragmented for it!"

"If the galaxy requires unity to be strong, Commander Bwua'tu," Jacen replied, "then it will unite. That has been shown in the Yuuzhan Vong War; but in this time of peace, unity, or at least the GA's view of unity, could very well be viewed by others, like the Bothans, as a stricture no better than the Empire's view of unity when it was under Palpatine, Isard, Thrawn, or any of the other warlords."

Bwua'tu growled before opening up a fleetwide transmission. "All forces, this is Supreme Commander Bwua'tu; retreat to your respective sectors immediately! I repeat, retreat to your respective sectors immediately!"

Just then, Master Hamner's voice cut into the line. "Commander Bwua'tu, what do you think you're doing?!"

"As I just said, Master Hamner, I'm calling for a tactical retreat." He regarded Jacen for a few seconds before returning his attention back to his command chair's inset commlink. "New considerations about resolving this conflict have been brought up which must be discussed."

During the conversation, GA ships were turning away from the Bothan defense line and jumping into hyperspace.

"They had better be good considerations," Hamner practically growled before signing off from the link.

Not long after, the _Ralroost_ was one of the last GA ships to jump to lightspeed on a heading for Denon, leaving the Bothan fleet victorious in their occupation of the Bothawui system.


	57. Chapter 57

Lando Calrissian was ready to give his old buddy Han Solo his typical charming smile as part of their reunion, only for his smile to disappear once he actually met with him, Leia, and Talon Karrde aboard the _Wild Karrde_. He didn't expect the accusing stares leveled at him by the three of them after boarding Karrde's ship; he had come all the way out here in the middle of an empty system, outside of Galactic Alliance jurisdiction, and locked airlocks the _Lady Luck_ and the _Wild Karrde_ and expected a happy reunion, especially with what was happening with the Bothans right now.

"Lando," Han said without preamble, "did you tell the Bothans about how and Talon here rigged that New Republic election for Omas over two years ago? You're one of the few people who would know about that, obviously."

He looked back at his longtime friend in curiosity and concern. "You make it sound like that'd be a bad thing, ol' buddy."

Han, Leia, and Karrde's eyes all widened.

"Why would you think that?!" Han exclaimed.

"Because you and Leia were on the run just for trying to save Jaina from that slimeball Joil'ask!" Lando countered. "I figured that if Hamner was gonna do that, well, maybe you needed some help."

"That doesn't mean that you should go and give the Bothans information that would pretty much give them a leg up on the galactic government that's running everything right now!" Leia countered. "You've only given them more justification to go against the Galactic Alliance!"

"And plus, Leia and I can handle ourselves as we've always done," Han added. "What you did, especially after Omas just died, kinda threw a hydrospanner into the works."

Lando scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, I only heard about that after I gave the Bothans that info."

Han, Leia, and Karrde all gave a collective sigh.

"Hey, I had to do something, Han," Lando said. "I couldn't just let you and Leia be fugitives!"

"So you went and fomented more disorder among the Galactic Alliance," Karrde said. "Nice going, Calrissian."

Lando grimaced.

"Look, maybe we can still salvage something from this," Leia suggested.

"Like how?" Han retorted. "Reorganize the Galactic Alliance into a new government and give it a new name?"

Karrde shrugged. "Well, at least we'd be able to say that whatever new hypothetical government forms won't be founded by a politician who won a rigged election."

"You're not helping, Karrde," Han said.

"Wait, how would that not work?" Lando asked. "People would shut up with their leader being voted in fair and square."

"Yeah, but how are we actually going to go about this, Lando?" Han asked. "Just go over to Denon and tell Releqy A'Kla, Nek Bwua'tu, and Kenth Hamner that if they revoke Leia and mine's fugitive statuses, we could help reorganize the government. Brilliant plan," he concluded sarcastically. "I'm sure that'll allow us past Orbital Control."

Lando was about to counter when Leia held up her hands to stop everything. "Wait," she said. "I sense an incoming presence coming out of hyperspace; a Jedi Knight. Han, I'm hiding your presence and mine through the Force."

Han nodded, and moments later, Shada D'ukal appeared out in the corridor.

"Captain," she said to Karrde, "we just received a transmission from a Jedi Knight; he requests that he speak to you."

"Of course," Karrde said. He looked over to Han, Leia, and Lando. "You all stay here. And, Han, don't kill Lando for this."

"I'll try not to," Han muttered at Karrde's retreating form. He then quickly looked back at Lando and said, "And don't tell me this ain't as bad as turning us over to the Imps on Bespin; don't use that card on me, buddy."

Lando gave a mirthless half-smile in response.

Meanwhile, Karrde arrived on the _Wild Karrde_'s bridge with Shada and he entered the line of sight of the young male human Jedi Knight - Karrde judged him to be in his early twenties, at least - on the other end of the holographic transmission.

"Greetings, Captain Karrde," the other man said in a tone that came off as more stiff than formal. "I am Jedi Knight Garis Boric. I've been tasked by Master Hamner to track down and locate Han and Leia Solo for their crimes of insubordination, assaulting Master Hamner, and the hijacking of a star cruiser. May I please inspect your ship?"

Karrde kept any surprise off his face. "Of course, Jedi Boric. Feel free to dock."

As soon as Boric shut off the holographic transmission, Karrde wasted no time; he turned and returned to where the Solos and Lando waited. He then bent down and opened up the trapdoor, revealing a hidden compartment beneath.

"Below, you'll find another one," Karrde told them. "A little adaptation we had to make after the whole Caamas Document thing. Get into it just in case."

The Solos both nodded. "Got it," Han said before allowing Leia to go in first. He followed in her wake, and Karrde closed the compartment on them.

"Should I go in, too?" Lando asked.

Karrde shook his head as he stood back up. "Leia said she only hid her and Han's presence before the Jedi Knight came out of hyperspace. By now, he probably feels your presence, and he'd be suspicious if you tried to hide from him."

"Makes sense, I guess," Lando replied with a shrug.

"Now I'll go meet our guest," Karrde said as he headed over to the _Wild Karrde_'s airlock.

After a couple of minutes, the airlock opened and Jedi Knight Garis Boric stepped aboard.

Karrde gave him a courteous nod. "Welcome aboard, Jedi Boric. Please, feel free to start your inspection."

Wordlessly, Boric complied and he took out a scanner that he activated and began waving methodically in the air. He then stepped down the corridor in the direction that Karrde came from.

"Tell me, Captain Karrde," Boric said as he continued to look at what the scanner was showing him, "have you made any contact with Han and Leia Solo recently?"

"Since they became criminals?" Karrde asked. "I suppose that scanner would tell you?"

"It would inform me if there were any trace amounts of their DNA in the atmosphere," Boric told him, still not looking away from the device. "And apparently, it is." He stopped in the corridor.

Right over where Han and Leia had been down through the trapdoor.

Karrde wondered what he could possibly tell Boric, but was surprised when the Jedi activated his blue-bladed lightsaber and plunged it down through the trapdoor. He then cut a molten circle and carved it, allowing a chunk of metal to clang down into the hidden compartment below.

"Smugglers' compartment, as expected," Boric commented as he looked down through the unnecessary hole. He then looked back at Karrde. "I won't hold that against you, Captain Karrde, especially since you've formally retired from the illegal business of smuggling. And since there's nothing, and nobody, down there, it seems like you're off the hook for this one."

"Why thank you. I-"

"The inspection will continue, however," Boric said. "Especially since my scanner did confirm that the Solos were here. Now answer my question: have you made contact with them?"

"I did," Karrde found himself admitting. "But that was quite a few days ago," he quickly added.

"What was the nature of your encounter with them?"

"They wanted supplies," Karrde answered. "Foodstuffs, water, weapons. Things that would be needed for fugitives. I supplied their list of requirements and they left, not telling me where they went."

"Captain Karrde, were you aware that Han and Leia Solo were fugitives from Galactic Alliance law when you gave them those supplies?" Boric asked.

"No, Jedi Boric, I was not aware of that fact," Karrde lied. "I only learned of that recently."

So he just lied to a Jedi Knight; how stupid of him. As good as his sabacc face was, Karrde highly doubted that what he just said would earn him any points with the Jedi.

"Hmm. I see," Boric replied. "Well, allow me to continue my inspection, and I'll be done here."

Half an hour later, Boric had concluded his inspection, shook Karrde's hand, and the Jedi Knight returned to his X-wing. Karrde didn't let out that huge sigh of relief until the airlock door was closed and sealed.

And only after Boric's starfighter went into hyperspace did Karrde open up the damaged compartment door. He reached down to pick up the cooled slab of metal that the Jedi Knight had cut with his lightsaber, set it to the side, and opened up the door to the next compartment.

"He's gone," Karrde told Han and Leia. "You can come out now."

"For a second, I thought he found us when we heard that lightsaber activate over us," Han commented as he and Leia climbed out of the compartment.

"And I thought he had me when I told him that I didn't know you were fugitives when you encountered me," Karrde added.

Han and Leia looked at him in shock; even Lando, who had hidden himself away in the _Wild Karrde_'s food galley during Boric's shipwide inspection, had joined them and had also been surprised to hear what Karrde just said.

"You lied to a Jedi Knight?" Leia asked.

"And he bought it?" Han asked.

Karrde shrugged. "I don't know how I was able to lie to him so easily." He chuckled softly. "Maybe I'm better at lying than I thought. Maybe I should become a smuggler again if I can lie to a Jedi convincingly."

.

Hamner hit his fist against the wall of his quarters in the Jedi Temple back on Denon several times before he calmed down and panted heavily from the exertion.

It had been several hours since Bwua'tu's cowardly departure from the Bothawui system, and it would be two hours before the meeting with him, A'Kla, and Jacen Solo was scheduled to take place in the Chief of State's office.

Once again, the Bothans were allowed to resist the Galactic Alliance, and because Bwua'tu had once again left the system; and even after Traest Kre'fey actually _killed_ himself! That should have meant a victory, a striking blow against the Bothan people, but Kre'fey had made himself into a martyr, just as his cousin Borsk Fey'lya had when he suicide-bombed himself and took out about twenty-five thousand Yuuzhan Vong when the invaders took Coruscant, an event that prompted his species' _ar'krai_ against the Vong in the first place.

Now, as if the Bothans hadn't already practically declared _ar'krai_ on the Galactic Alliance, Kre'fey's death probably more than likely cemented that. They would more than likely do that because they'd been forced to cancel their _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong, what with the living planet of Zonama Sekot containing them under Chiss Ascendancy protection.

And it frustrated Hamner that the Bothans were causing this much trouble against the Galactic Alliance to begin with. Even with the outside allies they were mustering, they couldn't possibly stand up to the almighty fleet of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances! They could be so easily destroyed!

But that was the military side of Hamner speaking. The Jedi side of him said that it was the moral duty to see to it that the path of least violence, if not outright peace, be achieved. But how could solutions that didn't involve mass death, if not genocide, be achieved when there was so much conflict coming from beings like the Bothans? It made maintaining personal morals as a Jedi to be so difficult that at times, it seemed impossible.

Hamner was broken out of his musings when his quarters' inset holocomm, stationed on the wall beside his nightstand, was ringing. He hurried to activate it.

"Master Hamner," the caller on the other end addressed.

"Jedi Garis Boric," Hamner recognized. "Seeing as how you're calling me on my personal holocomm, I assume that you have important news regarding the whereabouts of Han and Leia Solo?"

Boric nodded. "Talon Karrde is hiding them somehow."

"I see. You don't know where?"

Boric shook his head. "I've looked; I even checked his secret smugglers' compartments. He even admitted to meeting them, but he lied when he told me that he didn't know they were criminals when he met them."

"So what did you do?" Hamner asked.

"I allowed him to believe that he fooled me," Boric explained, "and I continued my inspection."

"So why didn't you press him?"

"Because of the people he has behind his back, Master Hamner," Boric said. "If I had him arrested, his people would have fought for him to the death. They need to be brought to justice for abetting the Solos' criminal activities."

"I see that your sense of justice as a Jedi is intact, Jedi Boric. So, if you did not arrest Karrde for harboring the Solos, what do you intend on doing instead?"

"I ask you, Master Hamner, to supply me a suitable squadron to lead against the _Wild Karrde_," Boric insisted. "That way, I and my fellow Jedi can take it, and we can have Karrde and all his people arrested and find out where Han and Leia Solo are."

"I assume that you left a tracking beacon aboard the _Wild Karrde_ for such a hypothetical team to track, Jedi Boric?"

Boric grinned as he held up a scanner with a blinking dot. "Even after all these hours, Karrde still hasn't figured it out, Master Hamner."

Hamner shared Boric's triumphant grin.


	58. Chapter 58

Gathered in Chief of State's office with A'Kla, Hamner, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and the latter's two guards, Bwua'tu had laid out Jacen's suggestion for all to hear. While A'Kla was seated in her office chair, Bwua'tu and Hamner were both seated in the guest seats, and Jacen and Tenel Ka's guards all stood behind the Supreme Commander and Jedi Master. Tenel Ka herself was seated in a special chair brought in by two Galactic Alliance guards just for her, and she sat back from the three leaders of the GA.

"Unacceptable," Hamner was the first to say when Bwua'tu was finished. "Absolutely not. Not only would this make the Galactic Alliance look weaker for it, but it would thus give the Bothans free reign to do whatever they wanted, which might be to further cripple the Alliance itself."

"I had brought these points up to Mister Solo, Master Hamner," Bwua'tu stated. "He says that we should give this a chance anyway."

"I won't be having the Galactic Alliance go through this direction," Hamner countered with resolution. He then shifted his gaze over to Jacen. "What you did should be considered treason, Solo."

"I'm not part of either the Galactic Alliance or the Jedi Order, Master Hamner," Jacen pointed out. "And I didn't do anything that expressly hurt the government, either. So there's no reason to have me arrested, if that's what you think should happen."

"And I have yet to give my opinion on this matter," A'Kla spoke up.

Hamner shifted his attention over to the Caamasi. "My apologies, Chief A'Kla. What do you think of Mister Solo's proposal?"

"As Chief of State of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances," A'Kla said, "I am willing to broker peaceful terms with the Bothans and allow them to leave the government if they so choose."

Hamner's eyes widened in shock. "Why?!"

"Calm your temper, Master Hamner," A'Kla said in a properly subdued tone. "Do remember who you are speaking to here."

Hamner bowed his head in obeisance. "Once again, my sincerest apologies, Chief."

"As for your question, Master Hamner," A'Kla continued, "this war is pointless. This whole conflict started because the likes of Captain Derapp Joil'ask and Commander Reh'mwa, who were backed by certain members in the Combined Clans, were illegally continuing their _ar'krai_ against the Yuuzhan Vong. Now the Bothans cannot continue that _ar'krai_, whether they continue to pursue it or not, since Zonama Sekot has achieved the protection of the Chiss Ascendancy. And by forcing the Bothans to stay in line like this, we look more like petty dictators than strong leaders. Therefore, between the three of us - Commander Bwua'tu, Master Hamner, and myself - I vote that we discuss peaceful terms with the Bothans."

"I vote against it," Hamner said. "If we do this, we encourage chaos and disorder for the rest of the galaxy to follow."

"Commander Bwua'tu?" A'Kla asked one of the few Bothans in the galaxy who was willing to heed GA leadership. "What do you think?"

"You'd best make the decision that will aid the Galactic Alliance, Commander Bwua'tu," Hamner said with the undercurrent of a growl, "and the galaxy overall."

Bwua'tu was silent for several moments. He looked between his fellow leaders - A'Kla and Hamner - and Jacen; A'Kla and Jacen shared a hopeful gaze, while Hamner looked as if he was about to murder Bwua'tu if he made the wrong decision.

Finally Bwua'tu gulped before giving his answer. "The galaxy still needs time to heal from the wounds left the Yuuzhan Vong War; and it'll need even more time for the wounds left by this conflict to heal. So I have to agree with Chief A'Kla, Master Hamner; we must give peace a chance."

Hamner then sat back and looked between his fellow leaders, his expression completely unreadable, just as his thoughts were to both Jacen and Tenel Ka's Force perceptions.

"Very well," the human ultimately said. "I will abide by your decision."

"Then it is settled," A'Kla said. "I will place a message on the HoloNet for the entire galaxy to hear this afternoon on _The Perre Needmo Newshour_, and that will include the Bothans, in which I will give them a chance to settle this latest war peacefully. Does anyone have any questions?"

Nobody raised their hands or spoke up.

"Very well," A'Kla said. "This meeting is adjourned."

After everyone but A'Kla left her office, Jacen temporarily stopped Hamner from heading his way by calling out, "Master Hamner."

The Jedi Master halted in his course and turned to look back at the former Jedi Knight.

"If I may say," Jacen commented, "for a Jedi Master - the _leading_ Jedi Master of the Order, no less - you seem very averse to peace as a solution to this war."

"Peace doesn't come so simply, as you, Commander Bwua'tu, and Chief A'Kla seem to think, Solo," Hamner said. "And considering that you actually fought in the Yuuzhan Vong War, I'm surprised to think that you of all people would think that this hypothetical peace can come about so bloodlessly."

"More than enough blood's been shed already, Master Hamner," Jacen said. "And considering that you also fought in that war, I'm surprised that you wouldn't want peace as badly as I do."

"Oh, I do want peace to this conflict, Solo. I just want it in a way where the Bothans will understand that they can't simply break the rules and laws that the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance had set up."

"Then you'll have been rid of a planetary government that's unwilling to follow those rules and laws," Jacen pointed out.

Hamner gave a humorless smirk. "We'll see." He then turned back and walked away.

Once Hamner was gone, Tenel Ka and her guards rejoined Jacen.

"Master Hamner isn't well," Jacen said. "I can feel it in his Force-presence. He can hide his thoughts and feelings from me all he can, but I can still see so much. I see dark red, mixed with orange courage, in my Aing-Tii perception of him."

"He is becoming corrupted?" Tenel Ka asked.

"I hope not," Jacen said. "From the two cultures I've encountered, Tenel Ka, I've learned that nothing's ever so simple. Hell, if anything, I can even see Master Hamner's point; even if there is peace, the risk of Bothan retaliation would still be possible, if not likely."

"Yet you still feel that this is the best choice?" Tenel Ka asked.

He nodded. "At least... I hope so."


	59. Chapter 59

In a cantina on Chandrila, Danni, leaning against the counter, had another shot of Whyren's Reserve and was now starting to feel lightheaded. She then raised her glass.

"Hey, barkeep," she called to the Rodian bartender, "'nother shot."

The bartender poured her another round, and she took a moment to herself before she gulped it down. Danni asked for a few more shots in sequence, gulping all of them down every couple of minutes, before giving a meager belch from the alcohol.

"'Kay, I think I'm ready to pay," Danni said. She lay her glass down on the counter and fished for some credits in her pants pocket that she then plopped down into the Rodian's waiting hand.

"Need me to call a hovercab, Miss?" the bartender asked.

"No need," a male reptilian voice beside Danni said. "I'll do it for her."

She looked over and her eyes widened at the familiar face looking between her and the Rodian.

"Tesar?" she asked. "What are you doing all the way out here?" She then remembered that the bartender still had his attention on her and Tesar Sebatyne. "Thanks, I'll be fine."

As the bartender turned and went on with his duties, Danni looked back at Tesar and repeated her question to him.

"We're looking for alliez, Danni," Tesar explained in a hushed tone.

"We?" Danni asked in a similarly hushed tone.

Tesar looked around. "I think maybe we should bring this discussion elsewhere. Come on." He stood up off the stool, and Danni followed him out of the cantina with a slight stumble in her walk.

The conversation soon resumed in an ally between two abandoned, dilapidated buildings across the street. "Let me bring you up to speed," Tesar said.

He then told her about the Wild Knights' falling out with the Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance on Dathomir, their fleeing back to Barab I, and their subsequent alliance with Talon Karrde's communications reestablishment organization.

"What exactly do you intend to do?" Danni asked.

"We were hoping that we could help end this Bothan conflict as a primary objective," Tesar said. "Of course, with Releqy A'Kla's announcement that she iz going to attempt peace negotiationz with the Bothans, we may not be needed for that."

"So, if not resolving that conflict, what then?"

Tesar hesitated in his response. "Deposing Master Hamner from his position as the lead Jedi Master. He is not making the decisions that we feel he should make; we feel that he is going too far and that new and better leadership is needed."

Danni looked shocked. "How do you hope to depose Hamner?"

"Honestly, we are not sure yet," Tesar said. "We are hoping to do this after the Bothan crisis is resolved, but that may change. Nevertheless, we are looking for allies whose abilities might work to our advantage against Hamner."

"And you want me for my time in helping you and the Wild Knights during the Vong War," Danni observed.

Tesar nodded. "Exactly."

"I'm not sure if I wanna be a part of this, Tesar," Danni said. "This isn't like the Vong War, where I lent my abilities out of necessity to stopping them."

"Your abilities might be necessary here, too, Danni," Tesar pointed out.

"They may be, but I'd be helping you go against the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order," Danni said. "And I'm done with getting involved in violence anyway. Look, I won't tell anyone about your little organization, but I want no part in it either. Oh, and don't worry about me being tortured into telling anyone who you are or what you plan to do, Tesar," Danni added. "I've been tortured by the Vong. It's worse than anything the Galactic Alliance could throw at me."

"I seriously hope that you reconsider my offer, Danni," Tesar said.

She sighed. "Well, I hope I _don't_. And how'd you find out where I was anyway?"

"I was spying around here when I found you," Tesar said, "and since you're not back on Zonama Sekot with Tahiri and Tekli, I assume that you left for some reazon?"

"I went to try and talk some sense into Jacen," Danni said. "But he's too busy screwin' around on Hapes to be any good to himself, or to anyone else. And anyway, I am going back to Zonama Sekot."

"You've been here for nearly a week," Tesar said. "When are you going to leave?"

Danni looked at him curiously. "You mean you didn't just find out I was here, Tesar?"

The Barabel shook his head. "I assumed that maybe you were staying around before making a return trip to Zonama Sekot, but since you haven't been off Chandrila for all this time, I thought that maybe you decided to make this your permanent residence, and maybe I could look to you as an ally."

"No, no, I was planning to leave," Danni said in an uncertain tone. "I was... gonna do it... soon."

"You don't want to return to Zonama Sekot?" Tesar asked.

"No, no, I do, I just..." She trailed off and sighed. "Ah, who'm I kiddin'? I don't wanna go back, Tesar."

"Why not?"

Danni's lips thinned into a fine line. "It's because of Jacen. I know I'm not allowed back into the Hapes Consortium, but... I don't know, I guess I'm hopin' if I stay here, maybe I'll get a chance to see him again somehow."

"Then perhaps if you join with us, Danni," Tesar suggested, "you may very well see Jacen again."

Danni snorted. "Yeah, probably on the opposite side. Since the Hapes Consortium is allied with the Galactic Alliance, especially since Tenel Ka being a Jedi Knight means she's under Hamner's thumb, allying with you would probably mean that I'll be more likely to be struck down by Jacen before seeing him again on friendly terms."

"That iz doubtful," Tesar said. "Jacen was there when Traest Kre'fey killed himself after ordering the Bothan fleet to continue fighting the Galactic Alliance. He could have used his teleportation ability to wipe that fleet out to end the war for the Galactic Alliance, but he didn't; it is therefore more likely that he would sooner kill himself than kill you."

"Well, that's good to know, at least," she replied sardonically. But she was hiding the flash of genuine happiness in knowing that Jacen would do no harm to her even under orders.

"Listen, I understand your unwillingness to get involved with violence," Tesar said. "So I will leave you alone, Danni. But if you ever change your mind, I will give you my commlink frequency."

Danni shrugged as she took out her own commlink. "I'll key it in. Go ahead."

After Tesar rattled off a string of numbers for Danni to input for future reference, Tesar concluded with, "If I may be so bold to ask, Danni, why do you want to see Jacen again?"

Danni looked away, too embarrassed to answer.

"Ah. I see then," Tesar said in a knowing tone. "In that case, I hope that you see him again, too."

"He is with Tenel Ka," Danni pointed out.

"And the relationship can end," Tesar countered. "You have a chance; just as you have with this organization, Danni."

The Barabel then turned and left the alley, leaving Danni alone with her thoughts.


	60. Chapter 60

"Alright, Minister Seras," Karrde said as he handed his datapad to the male Duros before him, "if you'll just sign here, we'll make the installation of your facilities' hypercomm systems activations official."

"Thank you, Captain Karrde," replied Kylos Seras, Minister of Duro's Orbital Facilities, as he took the 'pad from the human's grasp. The Duros then tapped in a few buttons that made up the letters of his signature and pressed the **SIGN** button before handing the device back to Karrde.

The two of them shared a celebratory smile and a congratulatory handshake aboard Seras's primary Orbital Facility. In the grand viewport above them, the planet of Duro, which had been terraformed by the Yuuzhan Vong around the end of the first year in the war against them, hung like a precious jewel that had been earned by Seras for his overseeing of Duro's establishment of its new Orbital Facilities.

Previously an ecological wasteland from untold years of pollution from the Duros people, the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion of the planet had transformed Duro into a world flourishing with wildlife. Granted, the wildlife was Vong in nature, but considering the forests, jungles, and flora and fauna that lived on this world, the Galactic Alliance, along with the returning people of Duro, agreed to keep the planet as it now was so that any chance of it returning to what it once was may vanish altogether. As a result, Duro had become a tourist world for people - namely the rich and affluent - to explore and take a vacation on; the fact that they would be surrounded by Yuuzhan Vong lifeforms was something that the people of Duro were hoping that tourists were willing to put out of their minds.

It was one of the few things that could be considered a good thing to come from the Yuuzhan Vong War, if anyone in the galaxy was willing to admit it at all.

When his handshake with Seras concluded, Karrde said, "I hope all goes well with your operations here, Mister S-"

That was when a beep sounded through the Orbital Facility, indicating that one or more ships was about to come out of hyperspace.

Karrde and Seras looked up and to the side of the grand viewport facing away from Duro, where they found a dozen X-wings - an entire squadron - jump out of hyperspace.

"What's an X-wing squadron doing here?" Seras wondered aloud.

"Well, if they're here, I think we're about to find out," Karrde replied.

Moments later, Seras's commlink sounded, and when he responded, the feminine voice on the other end said, "Minister Seras, your presence is required in the control room at once, sir."

"On my way," Seras replied.

"Along with Captain Talon Karrde. Is he still with you, sir?"

Seras hesitated, and looked between the equally-confused Karrde and the commlink. "Yes, he is. I'll escort him to the control room immediately." He then shut off the commlink and replaced it on his belt before looking at Karrde.

"By your lead," the former smuggler said as he waved an inviting hand.

"Come this way," Seras replied as he guided Karrde to the nearest turbolift.

Two minutes later, Karrde and Seras were in the Orbital Facility's control room, where half a dozen Duros were all working away at their stations. The female Duros who called Seras waved him and Karrde over to her station.

Once they were at her side, she opened up a holographic transmission to a man who was all too familiar to Karrde.

"Captain Karrde," Jedi Knight Garis Boric said in an unpleasant tone, and with an expression to match. "Did you really think that I fell for your lie when you told me that you didn't know that Han and Leia Solo were fugitives?"

Karrde's eyes widened, and he ignored Seras and the holocomm operator's confused gazes at him.

"That's right," Boric said. "Now if you don't tell me where the Solos are right now, I will order my squadron to attack and destroy your _Wild Karrde _immediately."

Seras stepped in front of Karrde before the latter could say or do anything. "Young man, I am Kylos Seras, Minister of Duro's Orbital Facilities! You have no right to attack any ships that are docked aboard any of my-"

"Minister Seras, I know who you are, and it's apparent that you don't know who I am, so allow me to introduce myself: I am Jedi Knight Garis Boric, and I am acting on Master Kenth Hamner's behalf. Therefore, my galactic authority supersedes your planetary authority, and if you continue to resist my authority as you were just doing, I will have an arrest warrant ordered for you. Be grateful that I'm not having you arrested for associating with a criminal such as Talon Karrde."

"A criminal?" Seras asked. "As Captain Karrde told me, his past is behind him, and he was acquitted by the New Republic even before the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the galaxy!"

"He's lying to you, at least about not still being a criminal," Boric elaborated. "He's harboring fugitives Han and Leia Solo. Again, Minister, I demand that you step down now or face arrest for obstruction of justice."

Seras bowed his head and grimaced. "Of course. As you were, Jedi Boric." He then stepped out of the way, allowing the holographically-projected human to return his line of sight to Karrde.

"Now, Captain Karrde," Boric said, "I will repeat my question: Where are Han and Leia Solo? Answer me truthfully, and you may face a reduced sentence. Oh, and let's not forget about your ship and the crew aboard her." His tone was one that reveled in dominance; typical of someone who loved to abuse his position of power. Karrde remembered that being a trait that Thrawn tended to have at his least civil.

Karrde bared his teeth and reached for his commlink.

"Ah-ah-ah," Boric said, verbally stopping Karrde from completing his action. "Warn your crew, and I order my squadron to obliterate your ship before any of your people have time to gun up the _Karrde_'s engines or fire up her lasers. You would be sealing their fate."

"And what if Han and Leia Solo are aboard?" Karrde asked.

"Then you'd only be making my job easier, Captain Karrde," Boric said. "Master Hamner doesn't care one way or the other whether the Solos are brought back to face justice or if they're simply blasted into oblivion."

"For Jedi, you and Master Hamner aren't so compassionate," Karrde pointed out.

"Sometimes, compassion can be a hindrance," Boric remarked philosophically. "Jedi have killed mercilessly before, and for good reason; to do what needed to be done. That was how we won the Vong War, Captain."

"But it sounds like you lost what makes a real Jedi, Boric," Karrde countered.

Anger flared in Boric's expression. "Do _not_ dare to speak of being a Jedi when you know nothing of being one, Karrde."

"I knew Jedi like Luke Skywalker," Karrde protested. "He was a better Jedi than you'll ever be."

Boric's nostrils flared, and Karrde could see a hand move. "All pilots, move in on the _Wild Karrde_! Destroy her at once!"

"No!" Karrde screamed.

But by then, Boric had already terminated the transmission, and less than a second later, Karrde turned and rushed out of the Orbital Facility's control room, leaving a concerned Seras behind.

He took a turbolift down to the Orbital Facility's docking bay, during which he heard a loud but muffled series of explosions shake through the space station's infrastructure. Immediately, he took out his commlink and began keying in the frequencies of the _Wild Karrde_ crew members that he named.

"Fleras? Penkan! H'sishi? Ghent?... Shada?" His voice wavered as he spoke the last name.

But none of them responded. Because of that, Karrde feared the worst once the elevator doors opened.

And the worst had happened; when he stepped out, Karrde fell to his knees in despair as he watched the _Wild Karrde_ burn in flames. Seconds after, the docking bay's ceiling discharged a set of foam down upon the _Karrde_, smothering its flames.

He barely even registered the landings of the X-wing squadron in various places throughout the hangar bay, and his vision blurred from the tears that were now watering his eyes.

After several moments, though, the form of Garis Boric eclipsed the destroyed _Karrde_.

"You were more responsible for their deaths than my squad and I were, Captain," Boric said in a tone of apathy. "Now tell me: did I just kill Han and Leia Solo?"

"You killed them," Karrde muttered. Then he shouted: "You killed them!" He then pounced off his knees and lunged for Boric.

Only to be stopped short from the blue-bladed lightsaber that was spearing him through his torso. The rage in Karrde's eyes then died away with him, and Boric allowed the old man's body to crumple to the deck after deactivating his lightsaber.

The in-name-only Jedi Knight turned around to address his fellow Jedi. "Search the ship. I want to know if the Solos were aboard."

All but one Jedi Knight went toward the ruined _Wild Karrde_. Boric looked at the remaining Knight, a female Arcona by the name of Vaala Razelle.

"Did you not hear my orders, Jedi Razelle?" Boric asked.

"Did you really have to kill Talon Karrde?" the Arcona asked, ignoring the human's question. "I understand why destroying the _Wild Karrde_, as it posed a serious danger had it actually been fired up. But you could have easily subdued Karrde himself with the Force!"

"Never underestimate people who don't have the Force, Jedi Razelle," Boric replied apathetically. "Someone like Karrde could have had a trick up his sleeve; you can never be too careful."

"What you did was unnecessary, Jedi Boric," Razelle replied.

Boric's gaze bore into Razelle like laser bolts. "Are you questioning my authority, Jedi Razelle?" he asked with an edge to his tone.

"I am," she replied with just as much edge.

"Then what do you intend to do about it?"

Razelle activated her green-bladed lightsaber. She didn't need to say anything else as Boric reactivated his own blue-bladed weapon, and they clashed.

Later, by the time the Jedi Knights aboard the destroyed _Wild Karrde_ had concluded their search aboard the ship, they had come out to find Boric standing over Razelle's decapitated corpse, his lightsaber still active.

He looked to the sunned Knights.

"She thought that what I did to Captain Karrde was questionable," Boric informed them as he deactivated and replaced his lightsaber back on his belt. "So she took aggressive action against me, and I defended myself. I had no choice but to kill Jedi Vaala Razelle in combat."

Every word he said was true, and all of the other Knights in the docking bay could sense Boric's truthfulness.

"Now," Boric continued once he sensed that all of the Knights believed him, "were you able to determine if Han and Leia Solo were aboard the _Wild Karrde_ when it was destroyed?"

"We determined that they weren't aboard, Jedi Boric," one of the Knights - male human Kunor Bann - reported after some hesitation.

"Then they're still out there," Boric commented objectively. He then turned and looked back down at Talon Karrde's corpse.

A part of him thought that Jedi Razelle was right; that he should have kept Karrde alive, but only so that he could interrogate him about the whereabouts of the elder Solos. Boric mentally kicked himself for this; Master Hamner wouldn't be pleased.

Boric felt a twinge of shame that he failed in his duties as a Jedi Knight; but not for the reasons that a pitiful fool like Karrde would have brought up.


	61. Chapter 61

The sudden feeling of loss that didn't so much overcome Mara as it did come over her in a significantly less pronounced way than it did when Luke died. But as she sat meditating in her quarters in the Jedi Temple, she felt someone close to her die, somewhere far away; it was a blimp, and the presence itself was too faint to be recognizable, yet she knew that she knew the late owner of that vanished presence. So she delved further into the Force, trying to see if she could discern who that vanished presence was.

And once she found out who it was, she felt an ache in her heart that made the one for Luke all the deeper. Where it had been an unbelievable tragedy for her husband to die, she now felt as if her invincible father had passed away, and there was nothing in the galaxy for her to truly find stability in.

Talon Karrde had been like that to her; a father, and a greater one than Palpatine had been. When Palpatine had died, she felt that her world had shattered. Now she felt that again with Karrde's death, and she simply collapsed out of her meditation to writhe in sobs along the floor of her quarters.

.

In the auditorium of the Council Building on Bothawui, the air was thick was tension as Galactic Alliance Chief of State Releqy A'Kla was escorted into the grand room with a duo of her own armed guards behind her.

Ahead, the Bothan Prime Minister, the male-to-female transgender leader Draff Gery'lye, sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk on which she and A'Kla were about to discuss terms about the peace treat. Gery'lye also had two of her own guards standing behind her, and aside from A'Kla and her retinue, nobody else was in the auditorium. There were, however, vidcams mounted along the room's ceiling at intervals where the people of Bothawui, and of the Galactic Alliance, were able to watch the proceeding.

Upon arriving at the table, A'Kla and her guards stopped, and the Caamasi bowed. "Prime Minister Gery'lye," she addressed.

The Bothan nodded. "Chief of State A'Kla. You may be seated." After A'Kla complied, Gery'lye continued with, "Now, Chief A'Kla, I have reviewed the terms that you have set forth within the separation agreement right here." She pointed at the sheet of flimsiplast between her and the Caamasi. "But for the benefit of this proceeding's viewers, I will recite them. However, before I do, I want to let you know that I agree to every single one of the regulations that you have set forth and-"

Before Gery'lye could complete that sentence, one of the mounted vidcams along the ceiling shot out a laser bolt that hit the Bothan Prime Minister through the left side of her head. She was dead before her body hit the floor.

Simultaneous with Gery'lye's demise, another vidcam, opposite of the one that killed the Prime Minister, shot out another laser bolt which struck A'Kla in the side of her head. Both government leaders collapsed along the ground at the same time, much to the shocked chagrin of their respective guards.

The four guards then began firing their blaster rifles along the ceiling, destroying all of the vidcams on instinct.

But it had been too late; both A'Kla and Gery'lye had already been assassinated, and their deaths had been shown to everyone watching.

Almost immediately, riots had once again sprung out in the streets of Bothawui.

.

In the privacy of his quarters in Denon's Jedi Temple, Hamner listened to the audio-only broadcast that had surfaced on the HoloNet mere hours after Releqy A'Kla and Draff Gery'lye's assassinations. The voice itself had been warped so that the identity of the speaker remained a mystery to all who listened.

"Citizens of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances," the unknown speaker said, "and citizens of Bothawui, I address you all to let you know that the True Victory Party will not stand for what Releqy A'Kla and Draff Gery'lye had attempted to do earlier today. The Bothan people will not be limited by strictures or a joke of a peace treaty, nor will we be separate from the Galactic Alliance! We will _take_ the Alliance for ourselves, we will make Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu know to whom his true allegiance is, and we will rule this galaxy as we were meant to, just as Borsk Fey'lya once had!

"And once we have the GA, we will finally fulfill what needs to be done; the extinction of the Yuuzhan Vong and the expulsion of their existence from all galactic records! It will not matter if the living world of Zonama Sekot is under the protection of the Chiss Ascendancy! It will die with the Vong all the same, and the Ascendancy will be given the choice of joining the Vong in eradication or giving them up to us!

"That is all."

The transmission finished after that.

Now, Hamner knew, one way or the other, the Bothans would be brought down. Either they surrendered to the Galactic Alliance's will, or they would be exterminated themselves. There would be no punches pulled on the Galactic Alliance's part, and even if A'Kla's temporary successor - her own Minister of State Wynn Dorvan - had any uncertainties about going against the Bothans in such an extreme manner, it wouldn't matter; he wouldn't have a choice, given what happened to his predecessor and GA public opinion, and the Bothans would have to go to war against the Galactic Alliance, if only to defend themselves from eradication.

And all while Hamner contemplated this fact, he couldn't help but grin in satisfaction. Yes, peace had been subverted, but it wouldn't have lasted anyway, as he always thought. This was how the Bothan War would be resolved; with one final swoop of violence.

And Hamner would be at Bothawui to see it come to an end.


	62. Chapter 62

In the dead of night on the side of Denon on which the Capital Building and Jedi Temple were, Jaina pressed her back along an alley wall before putting a quaint ski mask over her face. The rest of her regalia was set to match the anonymity that the mask provided her; in exchange for her typical brown Jedi robes, she wore a black burglar's jumpsuit that would be untraceable if any piece of it were caught for any reason.

Jaina then sneaked her head around and spotted the impound lot in which the _Millennium Falcon_ was stored. It was surrounded by a high duracrete wall, which ended at the top with an electric line. At various intervals through that line, short duracrete pillars supported automatic laser turrets; on the side that Jaina would be facing once she stepped out of the alley, there were four turrets that would be aimed right at her once she stepped within ten meters of the wall.

That wouldn't be the case, however, once she had the EMP detonator from a special pouch on her utility belt rolled toward it. Normally, though, a regular EMP burst wouldn't short out the military-grade electronics that were installed in the compound, as the Galactic Alliance had way too many safeties and protocols against such an obvious stunt. But the EMP that Jaina took out from her pouch had one special advantage: prior to emitting its electronic-overriding charge, it sent out a coded signal that automatically shut off all of the backups, safeties, and protocols that were installed, allowing any regular EMP charge to simply finish off what was left of the electronically-generated defenses of the impound lot.

This nifty little EMP charge was a gift to Jaina from Karrde sometime after the Yuuzhan Vong War, something that he hoped would console her, even just a little bit, in light of Uncle Luke's death then, given the device's practicality against potential enemies. Who would have figured that Jaina would be using this gadget against the Galactic Alliance?

The thought of Karrde, though, temporarily distracted Jaina as she looked at the EMP ball. She had heard about what happened to Karrde, his ship, and the crew aboard, and that it was carried out by a Jedi Knight named Garis Boric. She only hoped that when this was all over, she'd get her hands on Boric; then again, maybe that should be something that should be saved for Aunt Mara.

Regardless, Jaina put all of that out of her mind, bent down, activated the EMP ball for a set time, and rolled it toward the impound lot's perimeter. Moments later, after it completed its magic, and everything had been shut down, Jaina sprinted from her hiding spot and rushed toward the wall, which she vaulted over with a Force-assisted spring. Along the way, she had scooped up the EMP ball and, once she was airborne, replaced it in her pouch.

She landed on the other side in a crouch on top of a ship that she couldn't identify in the dark of the night. By now, she could hear the humanoid sentries, the ones who weren't affected by the EMP charge and who were present in case such a thing happened, began flashing their lights around, calling to each other, and overall scurrying around to see what had happened and if there were any intruders in the lot.

Jaina avoided all of their lights and other detections and managed to successfully board the _Millennium Falcon_ by leaping up into its entrance, which its boarding ramp would have brought her up through had it still been attached there. As it was, she found that the ramp itself had been placed right beneath her feet, having no doubt been mounted there by whomever had the _Falcon_ brought into this lot.

Jaina then stepped off the ramp that Hamner had lopped off with his lightsaber and took out two spare boarding ramp connectors; she attached them to the sides of the boarding ramp where the previous connectors had been destroyed. Once that was done, she used the Force to lift the ramp up and out so that it connected solidly, and automatically sealed, with the rest of the ship.

"Hey, does anyone see that ramp moving?!"

At the sound of a human's voice coming from outside, Jaina rushed and had the ramp manually shut back up against the rest of the ship. The sounds of the voices from without grew more panicked as Jaina hurried to the _Falcon_'s cockpit, where she started a coldstart reaction for a fast getaway, something that she had no doubt that the ship was all but used to by this point.

It wasn't long before the _Millennium Falcon_ was hovering off of the ground, its shields taking the brunt of the vain shots made by the humanoid security sentries, before she shot it off into the sky.

Now came the hard part; getting past Denon's Orbital Control. But if her father could do it in an inferior ship, then Jaina knew that she could do it with the _Millennium Falcon_ under her control.

Keeping her senses out for the possibility of a tractor beam attempting to lock onto the YT-1300 from the planet's orbital defenses, it only took a matter of dodging from the projectiles fired by the starfighters launched by the Galactic Alliance as she fled, all the while plotting a hyperspace course out of the Denon system. Jaina didn't even bother to answer the hail that was directed at the _Falcon_, obviously, especially not when she had the ship's automatic belly turret fire upon the pursuing starfighters.

Not long after the chase began, it had ended with the starlines of hyperspace stretching out through the viewport before her.

.

Before Karrde went to conclude his business over Duro, Han and Leia had been told by him to wait and hide in one of the latter's bases on Rishi - which had been a reestablished base since the Yuuzhan Vong War's end - until he called them up to deliver a shipment of cargo or something like that (all while incognito, of course). But upon hearing the news of what had happened from one of his past associates, Aves, it became clear that Karrde wouldn't be able to come and collect.

From within the bunker in which she and Han hid, Leia, who was as mortified as her husband, leaned over the comm console through which they communicated with Aves via holographic transmission. Aves himself was in orbit over Rishi in his ship, the _Lastri's Ort_, and he looked as grief-stricken as the Solos.

And mixed with that grief was the disgust that it was a group of Jedi who carried out the assault that destroyed the _Wild Karrde_, and that it was a Jedi Knight who killed Karrde.

"Hamner's gone too far," Aves proclaimed.

"We don't know if he even ordered this, Aves," Leia countered in spite of herself. "For all we know, this Garis Boric could have acted on his own initiative and against Master Hamner's orders." Privately, however, she doubted that, even if what happened was taken under Boric's initiative, Hamner would have condemned the corrupt Jedi Knight's actions, especially considering how militant and fascistic Hamner's actions were lately.

"That maybe," Aves conceded. "But the fact that this happened at all, Leia, shows that the Jedi Order is losing its way if there's slime like Boric in their number. You were right to go against Hamner's Order, after all."

"When this is all over, Hamner and this Boric bastard are gonna have a lot to answer for," Han growled. "So I guess I ask the obvious question: What do we do now? Wait, dumb question; we take action and storm the Jedi Temple on Denon."

"On _Denon_, Han?" Leia asked incredulously. "The capital of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances? Oh, yeah, like the planet's orbital defenses aren't gonna stop us!"

"By ourselves, yeah, it'd be a pretty stupid plan," Han agreed. He then looked back at the holographic figure still with him and Leia. "But I'm bettin' there are probably lots o' people who'd miss Karrde, right, Aves?"

Aves grinned. "Surprisingly, there might be more who'd miss him than those who'd party over his death."


	63. Chapter 63

Within the next two hours, the Hapan Battle Dragon _Dragon Queen_, flagship of the Hapes Consortium Navy, would jump into hyperspace from the Denon system and back into the Bothawui system with the rest of her subordinate Battle Dragons and the Galactic Alliance fleet that was traveling along.

In the meantime, Tenel Ka oversaw nearly all of the major preparations, mainly from her Battle Dragon's throne room, with Trista and Taryn letting her know that everything was all clear in certain areas, while techs and other people entered and exited the throne room to let her know of whatever accomplishments, or failures, have been made for the _Queen_'s departure. Obviously, Tenel Ka made sure, either via in-person or commlink, whether those failures were remedied as required.

In the final hour before departure, Tenel Ka had finished talking to Taryn about the fact that the maintenance techs took care of a minor anomaly in one of the engine rooms when the door leading to her and Jacen's shared quarters slid up. Jacen himself stepped out, his Force-presence reserved from Tenel Ka.

"Jacen, what is it? What is wrong?" Tenel Ka asked her paramour.

"I'm leaving, Tenel Ka," Jacen said flatly.

The Queen Mother's eyes widened in incredulity. "Leaving?"

Jacen nodded. "It's a decision that I didn't make lightly. I'm sorry, but I don't belong here, and I don't wanna get involved in this Bothan War, even if I'm just sitting in that room-" he indicated their shared quarters by pointing at it "-and hoping this Battle Dragon doesn't go up in atoms."

"So you are abandoning me, Jacen." It was not a question.

"As I said, my place isn't here, Tenel Ka," Jacen said. "You have all the security you could possibly have. You can have any man you want. And there's nothing I can really do to help you with your grief over your grandmother's death. So there's no reason for me to stay, and every reason for me to go."

A flash of hurt was cast in Tenel Ka's grey eyes as she stared back at Jacen; she even ignored the call made by the insistent beeping of her commlink and turned it off. She would sense if there was immediate danger in her midst through the Force anyway, so the call could not have been that urgent, she thought.

In turn, Jacen's expression was one that was filled all too clearly with guilt, but it was mixed with the unshakeable resolution that his place was, in fact, not with Tenel Ka.

They stayed that way, facing each other off with their respective expressions, until Tenel Ka's tightened along with her sole fist.

"You are a coward, Jacen Solo," she said harshly. "What kind of man simply abandons those he loves to potential danger? No man; only a sniveling weasel."

Without changing either his regretful expression or tone, Jacen said, "And here I thought you were going to use our child as an excuse to try to get me to stay with you."

Tenel Ka's eyes widened yet again. "You knew?"

"I can feel it through the Force," Jacen confirmed evenly. "I was wondering when you were gonna tell me."

"It was going to be something for you to find out after this Bothan War came to an end, Jacen," Tenel Ka said. "But since you decided to leave me, I did not think that you deserved to know. And I do not think that you deserve to meet her."

By her, Tenel Ka meant their child, a baby who would come to be their daughter in the next nine months.

"As you said," the Queen Mother continued, "I have all the security I need, and therefore childcare, even when I cannot be there for her. So there will be no need for you, after all."

"Then that just makes things easier," Jacen said.

He then turned and left the throne room; and Tenel Ka felt nothing for his cowardice.

Minutes later, Jacen reached the _Dragon Queen_'s hangar bay, where his _Solo Quest_ had been docked in case there came a time and circumstance for him to use it. After boarding, he had the YT-2400 up and running before taking off through the _Dragon Queen_'s magnetic shield and out into space.

No one even hailed him for his intentions; no doubt Tenel Ka was courteous enough to let the Galactic Alliance fleet know about his impending departure. Again, this just made things easier.

So, now, there was nothing to stop Jacen from continuing his sojourn; it had been a long break, much too long for his tastes in spite of the guilt he felt for leaving Tenel Ka like this. But, still, he could continue.

His next destination: the world of Nam Chorios, homeworld of the Theran Listeners. He set the coordinates for that planet's system up and he was out of the Denon system.

.

As Mara made sure that everything with the _Jade Shadow_ was in tiptop shape in the Jedi Temple's hangar bay, she thought back to the holocomm message that Jaina left in her, Mara's, quarters. It explained her unknown status in the Jedi Order fairly well.

"Aunt Mara, you're probably gonna be wondering where I am, and so will the rest of the Jedi Order, when the attack at Bothawui goes down, so I'm just letting you know: I've left the Jedi Order. It's not an official thing, and it's not something I went out of my way to tell anyone about other than you.

"You see, I can't deal with Master Hamner in control anymore; his reign must stop now, because there will only be more bloodshed and tyranny under his belt. Yeah, I know, the Bothans, or at least the True Victory Party, were the ones who had that whole peace treaty that A'Kla tried go to poodoo, but let's face it: Master Hamner wants this. He wants the Bothans to either be exterminated or brought to heel before he ever allows them to break away from the Galactic Alliance as their own separate entity.

"In all honesty, I find it hard to find a better solution myself when the Bothans aren't making it any easier on themselves. But one thing that I'm sure of is that I won't be following Hamner's orders any longer; hell, I might even side with the Bothans just to go against him, because he is making the Jedi Order sick. He's brought Masters Lobi and Cilghal under his belt, and even Masters Ramis and Horn have been convinced. I'm even disappointed in both Masters Solusar; they like the order that Hamner is bringing around here.

"Master Katarn, Kyp, and I have all decided, along with some other Jedi, that Hamner needs to go down. You can tell him about me, if you'd like, but don't expose Master Katarn or Kyp. If there is any hope left for the Jedi Order, it's for Hamner to be brought down, and I hope you join us as well.

"Love, Jaina."

And just as Mara had finished having that message go through her head one more time, she felt a hand on her shoulder, from a presence that deliberately hid himself from her. She abruptly turned around and found Kyp Durron standing before her.

"So, Mara," he said grimly, "you in?"

Farther ahead in the hangar bay, she saw Kyle Katarn glance at her before returning his attention to his own X-wing.

She looked back at Kyp and sighed.

"I'm in," she ultimately replied.


	64. Chapter 64

Boric felt relieved and honored to have been forgiven by Master Hamner after the Talon Karrde debacle; and he felt ecstatic that he and his Jedi Knight starfighter squadron - which Boric took to calling Hamner's Hammers - was even given another task.

After Boric had come back to Denon and headed straight to Master Hamner's office to personally inform him about killing Karrde before getting any useful information out of him regarding Han and Leia Solo's whereabouts, he had expected a stern reprimand.

Instead, Master Hamner told him, "From what you have just told me, Jedi Boric, it sounded as if you did what you thought was necessary; that is something that some Jedi have an aversion to."

"Like Saba Sebatyne?" Boric asked.

Master Hamner nodded.

"But I didn't get the information about the Solos' whereabouts, as you asked, Master," Boric reminded him.

"They will resurface in retaliation for Karrde's death, Jedi Boric," Master Hamner countered evenly. "And if they learn that you were the one to have ended Karrde's life, as well as the lives of his _Wild Karrde_ crew, they may even come after you themselves. So you will not have to worry so much about finding them."

Boric swallowed; the thought of the legendary Han Solo and Princess Leia coming after him for murdering one of their friends was something that both terrified and excited him. He had always wanted to meet them - and lately he wanted to arrest them, of course - but the likely scenario that they would seek retribution against him for killing Karrde wasn't a circumstance that he wanted to meet the Solos under.

It terrified him enough that Master Mara Jade Skywalker, who was close to Karrde, was still within easy access to him, given that she was still an official member of the Jedi Order and of the Galactic Alliance, unlike the Solos.

"At least you saw to it that the galaxy ended up with a fewer number of criminals, Jedi Boric," Master Hamner added. "And for showing that initiative, I want you and your fighter squadron to commence another task for the Jedi Order." Hamner's eyes shifted in consideration of something. "Well, actually, perhaps not your entire squadron; really, you would be all that is needed. But you may take your squadron if you wish, in case you do happen to run into Han and Leia Solo.

"As of now," Master Hamner continued, "the search for Han and Leia Solo is over for the reasons that I have just elucidated. Your new task is one that, because of the Bothan War, and because of an all-too strict code of ethics on the part of the late Chief of State Cal Omas, was not available for action.

"I want you to take a baradium missile to bombard Dathomir and eliminate every single Witch there, Nightsister and regular Witch alike."

Boric nodded without hesitation nor consideration against the older man's orders. "We will do as you command, Master Hamner."

Now here Boric was, in the cockpit of his X-wing as it soared through hyperspace from a transit point that took him and the rest of Hamner's Hammers from Denon to their destination of Dathomir.

Boric understood why Master Hamner wanted the Dathomiri Witches exterminated. He was aware of the Nightsisters' devastation of the Jedi Praxeum, which led to the deaths of many Jedi and Jedi-Witch students, including revered Master Streen, which, in turn, led to the downfall of Master Kirana Ti, whom Master Hamner had been forced to kill. It was also the planet where Master Saba Sebatyne and the remainder of her Wild Knights went rogue against Hamner's orders and fled as disowned Jedi, and where Augwynne Djo and her Singing Mountain Clan had turned against the Jedi Order and demanded that both the Order and the Galactic Alliance leave Dathomir forever.

But even if Boric was unaware of all of this, he still would have followed Master Hamner's orders; because Master Hamner, above all other Jedi, above even Boric himself, was the Jedi Order. To defy him was to defy the Jedi Order itself, and to defy law and order in the galaxy overall.

In Master Hamner, Boric had seen why Luke Skywalker would leave the Jedi Order to him in the event of his death. Boric saw Master Hamner's strength, determination, resolution, all in his actions, his words, and through his Force-presence. Master Hamner commanded authority and respect, and Boric held nothing but contempt and loathing for those like Saba Sebatyne who defied that authority and respect.

It was why Boric had left the Theran Listeners on Nam Chorios; Taru Durn and the others were all weak, shortsighted - and short-minded - fools who couldn't, and wouldn't, allow themselves to completely harness the power that the Force offered them.

Durn had told Boric, back before the latter had ever joined the Jedi: "A simple lesson for you, Garis, one that I think that you should have already learned by now: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In wielding the Force, we are all in some way corrupted, but we must be careful to never let that corruption overtake our souls."

Not long after Durn gave Boric that lecture, the latter had formally resigned from the Theran Listeners and went to Coruscant to become a Jedi apprentice, a rank that he held during the Yuuzhan Vong War, and had only come out of thanks to his promotion as Jedi Knight under Master Hamner's order.

Master Hamner understood how power was to be used, how it was to be used over those who didn't know how to use that power.

In his studies of Jedi history under Master Tionne Solusar, Boric had learned of the Sith - and certain members such as Darth Malak, Sheev Palpatine, and Count Dooku - and all the orders that they went through. And upon learning this, he thought the Sith to be fools; they had been too excessive with their power. Their subjugation of worlds and of people was something that Boric shook his head at.

Idiots, he thought. If you are to have citizens, you must treat them as if they are more special than they really are. That is how you can truly keep them in line; enslave them, demean them openly, and you get movements such as the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which Han and Leia Solo were active agents in. Only when citizens turn against you for things that they have actually done, such as the Dathomiri Witches, does a Jedi employ tactics that others would chafe at for being too Sith-like.

And that was what separated a Jedi - a _true_ Jedi - from a Sith.

With that self-reassurance, Boric readied himself for the drop back out from hyperspace with the rest of Hamner's Hammers, and as soon as the stars elongated from lines back to pinpricks in the vast blanket of darkness in the background, he called out to the rest of his squad.

"Alright, Hammers, stay here. I'll be back in a moment."

He then lead the way to the forest world ahead. After getting within a high orbit over Dathomir, Boric pressed the button that released and fired the baradium missile that had been attached to the underside of his starfighter for just this purpose. The specialized missile breached through the atmosphere at just the right angle so that it didn't burn up on entry.

A quarter of a minute later, a giant, kilometers-wide explosion that could be seen from space detonated where Boric fired it. And from there, the explosion fanned outward so that, within two minutes, it covered the entire world.

And as the world of Dathomir became a celestial ball that was covered in ash, Boric and the other Jedi in his squadron felt the deaths of every single living being on that world through the Force.

This mission was one that Boric knew had been successfully accomplished in what would be known as the Desolation of Dathomir.

And with the Desolation of Dathomir, whether they were traditional or Nightsisters, the planet's ruin had heralded the extinction of the Dathomiri Witches.


	65. Chapter 65

Mara stumbled and doubled over in the corridor leading to the Jedi Temple's childcare center, and the other Jedi around her - whether they were still on Kenth Hamner's side or not - had also done the same. When they recovered from the unified blow that they felt through the Force, Mara realized that what they had all just felt was the loss of so many lives, almost all at once, as if a planet full of lives had just been extinguished.

In fact, Mara thought, that may have very well just happened. She remembered that Luke - it still hurt to think of him even now - had told her about when Ben Kenobi had sensed the perishing of so many lives as a major disturbance in the Force; and it turned out to have been the destruction of Alderaan.

Then that made things all the more urgent, Mara resolved as she quickened her pace for the childcare center. Whatever, or whoever, was out there that was destroying planets and wiping out whole civilizations had to be stopped; and she had already decided that stopping this threat with the help of Hamner and the Masters who were still loyal to him wouldn't be an option.

The thought that Hamner may have somehow been responsible for the recent loss of lives was something that Mara hoped wasn't true; yet it would have only given her, Jaina, Kyp, Kyle Katarn, and the Knights supporting them even more justification in turning against Hamner.

Finally, Mara reached the entrance of the childcare center and laid her palm over the palmprint reader, which slid the door open before she walked in. She then reached out with her Force-senses and began looking for the reason that she came here: her two-year-old son, Ben. Mara felt him on the top floor of the childcare center.

_Of course_, she thought in mild frustration. All the more difficult for her to make a clean getaway, and right when there was still about twenty minutes before the Galactic Alliance-Jedi Order fleet launched for Bothawui. Mara would have arrived sooner, but Kyp convinced her that if she were going to take Ben, she had to do it around the same time that the plan against Hamner was to be pulled off.

Ahead in the calming, blue-walled reception room that Mara had entered, the female Rodian Jedi receptionist looked at the arriving human with a queried look.

"Master Skywalker?" the receptionist asked. "How may I help you?"

"I'm here to take my son Ben," Mara answered.

The Rodian's quizzical expression only grew. "But aren't you supposed to be launching with the rest of the GA-Jedi fleet for Bothawui, ma'am? Pardon me for asking, but where would you leave Ben?"

Instead of angrily telling the receptionist to shut up as she wanted to, Mara mustered up what patience she had in the midst of her dwindling time and said, "That will be a matter that I will discuss with the Masters Solusar."

Mara had a feeling that it wouldn't so much be a conversation as a prelude to a two-on-one lightsaber duel, with her against both Kam and Tionne, who wanted to protect little Ben from his treacherous mother.

Thankfully, what Mara told the receptionist was enough to shut the latter up, thus allowing for the redheaded human to continue on her way to the rest of the childcare center.

A few minutes later, after getting off from the turbolift that brought her up to the top floor, not only did she find her son among the present children in the main playroom, but all of the children were gathered around Tionne Solusar, who was playing one of her instruments and singing a song, with all the younglings, including Ben, singing along.

At the sight of this, Mara stopped. Seeing Ben happy like this, among all these other children, in front of Tionne - and _because_ of Tionne - was something that began to make her reconsider if she would, or could, go through with this after all. To try and take Ben from this place of happiness, from Kam and Tionne who had raised him while his parents were off fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, would be like taking Ben away from his true parents.

And as much as she felt envy toward the Solusars, it was an envy that she knew would only make her feel guilty if she would go through what would practically end up as a kidnapping.

Beside her, Mara started when a male voice addressed her.

"Hello, Mara."

She turned and found Kam Solusar standing there with a friendly-enough smile, which Mara reciprocated.

"Hey, Kam. Uh... I'm here to take Ben back." She said it in such a non-threatening tone, which almost made her feel out of place from who she really was.

"Yes, so the receptionist told me when she commed me about your arrival," Kam replied evenly. "And as she also pointed out, you're supposed to be back in the Temple's hangar bay, readying for Bothawui in a few minutes."

"Oh, I'll be back in the hangar bay, Kam," Mara replied. "But plans have changed; I won't be going with the rest of the fleet to Bothawui."

"Really?" Kam asked. "May I ask why not?"

"It's an alternative arrangement I made with Master Hamner," Mara lied. "It's something that also involves Ben being moved from here. I'm afraid I can't disclose it with you, Tionne, or any other Jedi. Nor can Master Hamner tell, so don't bother asking him, either." Even as she spoke that last sentence, she knew that it was said too hastily, too suspiciously for someone like Kam not to catch.

Indeed, Kam did regard Mara with a skeptically-raised brow for a moment. But he did nod. "I understand," he said. "Very well; I'll tell Tionne about this, and you can have Ben back."

"Thank you," Mara said with a nod that Kam returned before moving to Tionne.

Just in time, Tionne had finished playing and singing the song to the cheering children, and Kam bent down near her and whispered something in her ear. When he was finished, she nodded at him wordlessly, stood up, and said to the children, "Alright, younglings, I have to go somewhere now, but don't worry; when I come back, we can sing _The Wookiee and the Ewok Who Became Friends_."

Again, the children cheered, and Tionne left to the backroom as Kam bent down and called out to Ben.

But while Mara was glad that she would be able to take her son back after all, she couldn't help but wonder where Tionne was going...

.

With exactly five minutes left before the Jedi starfighters in the Temple's hangar bay were set to launch, Hamner, who was in the cockpit of his X-wing, received a beeping from his personal commlink.

When he answered it, Tionne Solusar's voice asked, "Master Hamner, did you and Master Jade Skywalker come to an arrangement that involved her exemption from the push on Bothawui and her allowance to take her son Ben with her?"

Hamner's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "No, I didn't; and I would tell you if there was such an arrangement, even if I couldn't disclose any details, Master Solusar. So what are you talking about?"

"Master Jade Skywalker just told Kam and me about such an undisclosed arrangement," Tionne said. "Kam is giving Ben to her now."

"I didn't authorize this," Hamner said immediately. "Master Skywalker should be down here in the hangar bay! Stop her, and bring her back to me alive, Master Solusar!"

Without waiting for a reply from Tionne, Hamner closed down the connection and opened up a new connection with Supreme Commander Bwua'tu.

"We need to halt the fleet for another hour, Commander Bwua'tu," Hamner said. "We seem to have a problem with one of the Jedi Masters that needs to be sorted out."

"Deal with the problem quickly then, Master Hamner," Bwua'tu's terse reply was.

"Oh, I intend to," Hamner replied before closing off that connection.

He then activated his X-wing's loudspeakers. "Attention, all Jedi! Our flight for the Bothawui system is being delayed, as it seems that we have in our midst a traitor in Master Mara Jade Skywalker. I intend to find out why Master Skywalker has disobeyed orders and-"

He cut himself off as his danger sense flared; without hesitation, he used the Force to blow the canopy off his cockpit and with a burst of Force-speed, he leaped up and out, and just as the X-wing beneath him flared up into flames.

.

Just as Kam was about to give Ben over to Mara, Tionne suddenly appeared between the little boy and his mother; Tionne, with a burst of the Force, had propelled herself from her previous position in the corridor leading out of the childcare room of this floor so that she landed where she was now.

Her eyes locked on Mara's with determination. "You lied to us, Mara. Why are you taking Ben and disobeying Master Hamner?"

Kam looked over at Mara with shock, and he wordlessly repeated his wife's question with his betrayed expression. Mara couldn't see Ben's expression, as Tionne was still standing in the way.

"I have to take Ben out of here, Tionne, Kam," Mara said. "While Kenth Hamner's in charge, the Jedi Order is being slowly but surely corrupted; you've already been convinced about the justification of Hamner's Order, and I don't know how, but I won't have Ben be subjected to the same corruption."

"You're out of line, Mara," Kam said.

"We have to bring you in right away," Tionne followed.

Mara grimaced. "I'm sorry, my friends. But do know this: I do appreciate that you've been taking care of Ben when Luke and I were gone."

She then cast out both hands, one for each Solusar, and Kam and Tionne flew back, with the latter flying clear over Ben's scared head. When the Solusars crashed down along the floor, all of the other children, including Ben, reacted in fear and terrified screams.

But Ben's screams simply turned to curious noises when Mara scooped him up before she turned and headed off back to the turbolift.


	66. Chapter 66

Hours before the Jedi-Galactic Alliance fleet was set to launch for the Bothawui system, Jaina dropped the _Millennium Falcon_ out of hyperspace right at the rendezvous point that Kyp Durron had given her: the Barab system, home of the ruined Barabel homeworld of Barab I.

And there, in orbit around the Yuuzhan Vong-desolated planet, waited a fleet of ships ready to take action against the Galactic Alliance and Kenth Hamner's Jedi Order - though not in conjunction with the Bothans as a people. Jaina had told Aunt Mara that that may very well be the case, but Jaina was even thankful that the Bothans, primarily the True Victory Party, weren't interested in joining Saba Sebatyne's Jedi Rebellion, given that they were as responsible for allowing the Yuuzhan Vong to live as Hamner and all the other Jedi were. Saba's mysterious contact in the True Victory Party made that very clear in his/her last transmission with Saba, as the former Jedi Master had told Jaina during one of their hypercomm conversations during the latter's journey from Denon to the Barab system.

The Bothans would be taken care of after Hamner was defeated, Saba had assured Jaina as an aside in their brief communication.

As expected, the _Falcon_ received a hail almost immediately. When she answered it, her father's voice called, "Jaina, is that you piloting my ship?"

She smirked as she replied. "Who else is worthy of flying the _Falcon_? Aside from you, of course, Dad."

"It's good that you're here, Jaina," her mother said, as if that wasn't a given. "You wouldn't mind docking the _Falcon_ with the _Lastri's Ort_, would you?"

"Do I get an X-wing in exchange?" Jaina asked.

"Consider it an early birthday present, honey," Han's voice cut back in.

Jaina kept her grin on as she piloted the _Falcon_ toward the ship that her sensors designated to be Captain Aves's _Lastri's Ort_.

After the exchange was done, with Han and Leia back in the cockpit of the _Falcon_ and Jaina in the cockpit of an X-wing, Saba Sebatyne's voice came over the fleetwide transmission.

"Alright, everyone," her reptilian voice said, "what we are doing, we do for thoze who been wrongfully lost under Kenth Hamner'z leadership of the Jedi Order. Even though we will have no choice but to engage, and destroy, forcez within the Galactic Federation of Free Alliancez, our primary goal will be to engage and kill Kenth Hamner himself along with all the other Jedi on his side."

Saba fell silent, as she felt guilt that she would have to be responsible for the ending of innocent Jedi lives, who were led astray by Hamner's influence and leadership.

"You have all already been given the lists about which Jedi are on our side, and which are on Hamner's side," Saba said. "I will allow this fleet one hour to review that list before we jump for Denon. When that happens... may the Force be with us instead of Kenth Hamner."

A little over an hour later, the fleet jumped into hyperspace.

.

Hamner landed in a cat-like crouch a dozen meters away from his flaming X-wing, which he turned to appraise along with every other Jedi in the hangar bay.

He was about to declare that it was Master Mara Jade Skywalker who set an explosive charge in his ship, as part of her treachery; he didn't know that for sure, but he immediately figured that if Skywalker would disobey his orders of not being the hangar bay for the impending launch for Bothawui, Hamner was sure that she was the one who set that charge.

But then a series of lightsabers activated behind Hamner, and he swiftly turned around to find Masters Kyp Durron and Kyle Katarn, along with two dozen Jedi Knights, standing with their weapons blazing.

"You reacted quicker than we thought, Master Hamner," Durron said in a tone that conveyed no respect for Hamner's title. "We didn't think you'd get out of the ship in time."

The leading Master of the Jedi Order, now faced with more turncoats than he previously thought, widened his eyes in shock.

"How could _any_ of you do this?!" Hamner asked in outrage. "We are in the midst of war! This is treason!"

"You're leading the Jedi Order down the wrong path, Kenth," Katarn said. "I can feel it through the Force; the Order is being corrupted under your leadership. You're doing things that Palpatine would have done."

"Don't you _dare_ compare me to Palpatine!" Hamner yelled as he activated his own lightsaber. "You will all die for this!"

"Order must be maintained," Corran Horn said as he joined Hamner's side and activated his lightsaber.

"Peace can only come from order," Tresina Lobi added as she joined Hamner's other side with her own lightsaber activated.

"The Jedi Order can provide that order," Octa Ramis said as she joined Lobi's other side.

"And all of you," Cilghal said as she joined Corran's other side, looking at the Jedi on Durron and Katarn's side, "are not part of that order."

"Attack!" Hamner cried out.

Then his side charged toward the line of traitors.

.

Instead of pressing the down button and waiting for the turbolift to come her way, Mara used the hand that wasn't holding the curious Ben in her arms to wield her lightsaber and use it to cut down the elevator doors before her. Her lightsaber still lit, she leaped down into the turbolift shift, with her son now screaming in terror at his new circumstances.

On the way down, she saw that the turbolift was rising before her and Ben, so by extending her fingers from her lightsaber-wielding hand, she cast the Force down upon the 'lift's roof, blowing a hole down through it that extended so that it created yet another hole down through the turbolift's floor. Mara then plummeted through both holes barely a second later, and upon landing at the bottom of the shaft, she cushioned her landing with the Force.

Keeping Ben's crying on her peripheral senses, Mara leaped up and slashed her lightsaber across the double doors that led out onto the main floor. There, she rushed through, and once she made it to the childcare center's reception room, she clashed blades with the Rodian receptionist.

Mara traded a few more blows with the receptionist, surprised that the alien would be willing to risk Ben's life like this, and the duel came to an abrupt end when Mara managed to lock both their blades in a high arc above their heads. The human then planted a boot upon the Rodian's kneecap, sending the green-skinned alien sprawling to the floor. Mara then knocked the receptionist unconscious by delivering another kick up the Rodian's jaw. She then rushed past and out the door of the childcare center.

But once there, she found that Kam and Tionne were already waiting for her; their lightsabers remained inactive and on their belts, so it was obvious that, unlike the unconscious receptionist inside, the Solusars weren't willing to risk Ben's life to stop Mara.

"It's over, Mara," Kam said.

"Give Ben to us and no harm will come to you, either," Tionne added softly.

Mara's determined expression dropped as she deactivated and replaced her lightsaber back onto her belt. That allowed the Solusars to approach the Skywalkers with very little trepidation; by now, Ben had calmed down slightly at the sight of the approaching Kam and Tionne.

Lowering their defenses was the Solusars' big mistake.

Mara then leaped up and delivered a boot up against both Solusars' jaws before flipping back, which simultaneously caused a renewal of Ben's crying. The boy's mother landed swiftly on her feet just as both Solusars landed on their backs, and Mara leaped up again and past them, and she turned and began running in the direction of the turbolift that would take her to the Jedi Temple's hangar bay.

But before she had left the corridor, she sensed that Kam and Tionne were now back on her trail again, running as quickly as they could to catch up. For that, Mara used the Force to double her speed, and the Solusars did just as that, too, in their pursuit.

However, for all that the chase did, Kam and Tionne weren't able to stop Mara from reaching the hangar bay with Ben two minutes later, where an intense battle between opposing forces of Jedi was being waged. Mara hurried through all of the fighting, the wailing Ben still in her arms, before she found the _Jade Shadow_ and used the Force to unlock and open it. She then ran up the ramp...

Only for a blur of motion to interpose itself between her and the entrance to the _Shadow_, and the next thing Mara knew, Ben was out of her arms.

She looked off to her left and found Tionne hurrying back the way that Mara had come, with a slightly-calmed Ben nestled in Tionne's arms.

Mara was about to launch herself into a Force-assisted leap for Tionne and Ben when the sound of a lightsaber activating was heard at the bottom of the ramp. In an instant, she activated and brought up her own blade to defend herself against the attacking Kam.


	67. Chapter 67

Because of the Bothan threat, additional security was obviously placed in Denon's Orbital Control. Civilian ships that dropped out into the system were submitted to lifeform readings; those that had at least one Bothan aboard were given personal investigations by an Orbital Control team. When it was found that the Bothan(s) aboard certain ships didn't represent any threat, and were unaffiliated with their people's desire for vengeance against the Galactic Alliance and Yuuzhan Vong, those ships and whatever crews aboard them were allowed to pass down through Denon's atmosphere.

Very few times since the Bothan War started did the Galactic Alliance ever actually catch any Bothan spies or potential saboteurs in their midst; and if there were any who managed to actually avoid detection or suspicion, they had yet to do anything remotely devastating to the GA. And while it was understood that the Bothans had allies who weren't of their species, the Galactic Alliance couldn't afford the time or resources to do personal investigations on ships carrying non-Bothans aboard, unless such non-Bothan ships elicited suspicion for whatever other reasons.

At least one of those ships elicited suspicion for a reason aside from the anxiety over the Bothans during a personal investigation. In an Orbital Control platform, the female Givin operator listened in on the sounds of the investigation crew of one of the newly arrived civilian frigates being slaughtered, their screams loud and clear in her headset.

Immediately, the Givin informed one of the battle-ready GA ships about this development and gave them the coordinates of the ship. But before the Star Destroyer could actually take any action against the frigate aboard which had the slaughtered investigation crew over an incriminating discovery that they made, the frigate and countless other of the arriving ships suddenly sprouted hidden weapons that no civilian ship coming in for Denon was ever supposed to have.

And with that, the ships that revealed their weapons began firing upon the GA ships ahead of them. Some of them even vomited out squadrons of starfighters.

The frustrated Saba Sebatyne was aboard one of those fighters; she was frustrated because they were supposed to enter Denon discretely, but because the speaker of the frigate that sparked this battle had become too nervous in his communication with the Orbital Control operator to whom he talked with. Now they were going to have to fight their way down through and help Kyp and the others the hard way.

.

In the midst of what would have been a confusing battle, all of the Jedi were able to tell who their opponents were simply by reading their intentions through the Force; those who wanted Hamner gone were considered to be the enemy on Hamner's side, and those who wanted Hamner to continue to reign were the enemy on Kyp Durron's side.

Hence, Hamner had no trouble making the distinctions as he clashed blades with various treacherous Jedi Knights, cutting them down with expert speed and efficiency. He scarcely focused on any one Jedi Knight for longer than ten seconds before leaving them either dead or severely maimed, sometimes in pieces on both counts.

His slaughter of the combat-inferior Knights soon ended when he saw Master Kyle Katarn - _former_ Master Kyle Katarn, as far as Hamner was concerned - stood before him, having permanently downed an Ithorian Knight who was on Hamner's side.

"And to think that you would be the one to turn on guardians of the light, Katarn," Hamner growled, referring to the Jedi Order.

"I turn on guardians of the light when they become bringers of darkness, Hamner," Katarn countered.

Hamner's growl turned into a full snarl as he struck his blade out, a strike that Katarn caught expertly. The former Jedi Master then held his ground, just as his opponent did, as they launched into their duel.

Elsewhere, on the boarding ramp of the _Jade Shadow_, Mara continued to duel off against Kam, and after several minutes of fighting on the ramp, Mara disengaged and flipped off to her right. Upon landing on her crouch, she cast out her free hand and sent Kam sailing back across the embattled Temple hangar bay.

Not bothering to rush back in and renew her duel with the male Solusar, Mara turned and soared off for the female Solusar, who still had Ben in her arms. Mara didn't go far, though, as she felt her legs go out from under her from a use of the Force from behind, and she collapsed to her front. She then turned on her back and, upon seeing Kam's airborne form coming down toward her, brought up her lightsaber in time to counter his blade.

And simultaneous with the block, Mara launched both her legs upward, the soles of her boots catching Kam in the midriff, and he went flying back again while she executed a back flip. But instead of landing on his back as before, Kam landed on his feet, just as Mara did.

He then reached out with the Force again and sent a box of cargo from off to his left so that it headed in from Mara's right. She slashed through the box, but was almost unable to stop Kam's strike, as he had taken advantage of the box's distraction to rush in at his opponent. But upon engaging with Mara again, she began to back away not under the onslaught of Kam's attacks, but so that she could get closer in the direction that Tionne had taken out of the hangar bay with Ben.

Seeing what Mara was doing, Kam traded a few more lightsaber clashes with Mara before leaping up and over her head so that he was now in her way of making any further progress to Tionne and Ben. For that, Mara stood her ground just as Kam did as their duel continued in a series of blocked cuts, flips, dodges, and the like.

"Mara, please stop, this doesn't have to be like this!" Kam shouted over the sounds of their clashing weapons.

"You're right!" Mara agreed sardonically. "Turn your allegiance from Hamner, Kam, and convince Tionne to do the same!"

"Master Hamner provides the order that keeps Ben safe!" Kam replied. "You spit in his face by turning against him!"

"He spits on Luke's legacy by doing things that Palpatine would!" Mara argued. "How could you and Tionne be willing parts to this madness?! Especially when the both of you were among the original members in the New Jedi Order?! Just as Kirana Ti was?!"

"Kirana made her decision!" Kam said. "She chose the way of the dark side of the Force! And you may not know it yet, Mara, but so are you and every other Jedi going against Master Hamner right now!"

"Oh, gimme a break!" Mara dismissed angrily. "How could you trick yourself into believing that poodoo?! Hamner's the one who's leading you all down the dark side!"

"Mara, please, I know you miss Luke, but-"

At the mention of Luke's name, Mara locked blades with Kam, planted her feet firmly on the deck, and pushed against him, all while glaring angrily into his eyes.

"DON'T YOU EVER MENTION HIM AGAIN!"

And with that, Mara increased the intensity of her strikes to such a degree that someone who was as relatively inexperienced as Kam wouldn't be able to properly defend himself. In that moment, Mara forgot that she wouldn't mean to kill Kam; her vision held nothing but red for the audacity of this idiot before her to ever use her husband's name against her.

Because of that, she managed to completely break past the defenses provided by Kam's lightsaber strikes so that she cut a diagonal furrow through his chest.

It was only then that her vision cleared back to normal; and while the battle continued around her and Kam, the space between them was frozen, with both their expressions locked in shocked horror; however, Kam's shock was magnified by the physical pain that would lead to his death.

The lightsaber in his hand deactivated from his hand's loss of control over the weapon and it dropped to the deck. And once he joined his weapon by collapsing next to it, Mara felt his life drain away immediately through the Force just as she saw the life drain away from his eyes.

.

With an ever-curious Ben still in her arms, Tionne didn't even make it back to the Jedi Temple's childcare center when she stopped dead in her tracks as she felt Kam's presence in the Force vanish altogether.

And when Ben started crying, having also sensed Kam's death, Tionne's face contorted in rage; and even without needing proof, she already knew who killed her husband.

Normally, Tionne wouldn't simply leave Ben out in the corridor like this; but this wasn't a normal circumstance. So, without further care, she set Ben down in the middle of the vacant corridor - there wasn't a single Jedi on Denon, alive or dead, who wasn't in the Temple's hangar bay, and not a single member of such as a maintenance staff was present - and Tionne turned and Force-rushed back to the hangar bay.

Mixed with the tears for her husband was murder in her eyes.

.

Kyle Katarn had just managed to defeat by Hamner by stabbing his lightsaber through the other man's leg, prompting the leading Jedi Master's involuntary collapse to the hangar bay deck. Katarn brought his lightsaber up near Hamner's throat and was about to ask him if he yielded when he sensed Kam's death from across the hangar. He looked over and found Mara standing over his corpse in frozen shock.

Katarn barely even registered the activation of a lightsaber beneath him - Hamner's, which had been deactivated when he collapsed to the deck - and when he looked down, he found that Hamner's green-bladed lightsaber was already skewering him through the torso.

"Some parting words for you, Katarn," Hamner rasped, "before you suffer eternal damnation when you join the Force: never take your eyes off your enemy, even when you believe him to be defeated."

Hamner then slashed his blade through Katarn's corpse and looked over to the still-frozen Mara.

At that point, Mara felt Katarn's death through the Force, and she saw the dead former Jedi Master lying next to the wounded Hamner. She didn't even hear her own scream as she yelled Katarn's name before leaping up, activating her lightsaber again, so that when she came down on Hamner, she could kill him.

But before she could strike Hamner down, her descent simply stopped, and she hung in midair. She was then flown across the room where her body banged hard against a wall of the hangar bay. Mara then collapsed to the deck in agony, her lightsaber clattering away from her, and when she looked up, she found Tionne Solusar's seething, angry expression staring down upon her.

No words needed to be said from either end. Tionne lifted up her activated lightsaber and struck down, only for Mara, who was using the Force to mentally overcome the pain - if only for now - to leap up so that she was between Tionne and her blade. She then tackled the other woman to the floor, grabbed her fellow widow's lightsaber-wielding wrist, and forced it past Tionne's head so that it was along the deck above her head.

The two of them struggled like that for several seconds before Tionne won out and forced herself on top of Mara. She was about to plunge her lightsaber down through Mara's head when the latter used the Force to call her lightsaber to hand. Seeing the incoming weapon fly toward them, Tionne lashed her own blade out and cut it into two.

But Mara had used that as a distraction, knowing that she was willing to sacrifice her lightsaber - the one that Luke had given to her back on Coruscant after the Thrawn campaign, passed down from his own father all those years ago - to save her own life.

So when Tionne cut Mara's lightsaber, the redheaded woman lurched up, grabbed both hands around Tionne's lightsaber-wielding wrist, and forced her back down to the deck; this time, however, the blade was angled so that it was within striking distance of Tionne's neck.

Hence, without hesitation, Mara forced the blade down and severed Tionne's head from her body.

And with that, Mara felt absolutely cold on the inside, as she knew that she had taken the two most important people in Ben's life.

.

Across the hangar, Kyp Durron, seething with his own anger as he continued to cut down rival Jedi, directed his attention at the wounded Kenth Hamner and the body of Kyle Katarn laying dead next to him.

"You're dead, Hamner!" Kyp projected his voice out to Hamner using the Force.

He then Force-leaped up and across the hangar so that he could land a death-dealing blow from his lightsaber against Hamner's wounded body. But the leading Jedi Master raised his free hand up and cast a bout of Electric Judgement, which Kyp was able to block off by using the Force to expertly absorb into his lightsaber.

Yet, at the same time, that didn't stop the physical impact that the bout of Electric Judgment cast, which was to send Kyp sailing for the hangar bay ceiling above. His back collided with the cold hard metal above, and he was knocked unconscious before he went tumbling back down, unable to control his descent or cushion his landing. So Hamner, figuring that upon landing, Durron would be dead anyway, didn't even bother to finish the former Jedi Master off with a follow-up attack.

But then, from within the dwindling crowd of fighting Jedi, Master Octa Ramis leaped up, deactivating and hooking her lightsaber back up to her belt as she went, and caught the unconscious Durron in her arms before landing. Hamner watched in astonishment at this turn of events.

Thankfully, her saving his life didn't mean that was going turncoat as well; she turned him onto his back and placed a set of stuncuffs between his wrists, which she set upon the small of his back.

Hamner grimaced; while it was possible to restrain a Jedi using electric stuncuffs, and thus prevent him or her from using the Force without getting severe physical shocks, he would have preferred it if Ramis had just forgone her past camaraderie with Durron and ended him so that his potentiality as a threat became null and void.

Regardless, Hamner put those thoughts out of his mind as Master Cilghal joined his side.

"We need to get you to the medbay stat!" the Mon Calamari Jedi Master and healer said as soon as she examined his wound.

"No, wait!" Hamner shrieked. "There's a medbay in the bunker below us! Saba Sebatyne and the Solos - Han, Leia, and Jaina - are all here in the system, and I can sense their intentions to help the treacherous Jedi here! Help me up and I can take us the bunker!"

Cilghal nodded and called over to Tresina Lobi, who had just finished off with two Jedi opponents of her own.

"Tresina, come help me!" Cilghal called.

Without responding, Lobi commenced three side-flips over to Hamner and Cilghal's side, and she propped up one of the human's shoulders on her own while Cilghal propped up his other shoulder on her own, and then they set off to a direction that led out of the hangar bay.

.

Mara continued to kneel over Tionne's decapitated body, and already, she could feel Ben's pain over losing both Solusars through the Force. She thought about rushing to him, but as it was, after killing both Kam and Tionne, she didn't feel like she could do anything but just kneel here and wait to die of starvation or thirst.

That decision, however, was taken out of her hands when she saw Corran Horn standing ahead of her with his lightsaber active.

"Don't make this any harder on yourself than you already have, Mara," he said in a low tone.

She didn't respond verbally. She simply raised her hands and took herself off the headless Tionne.

Corran didn't say anything more. He deactivated his lightsaber just as the battle was dwindling down, with the side of Hamner's Jedi achieving their victory, and he produced a set of stuncuffs that, after walking over to Mara's surrendered form, he placed behind her back.

"And to think that you thought you could give a better life for Ben," Corran gravely said in her ear before he pulled her up and along.


	68. Chapter 68

As soon as Hamner arrived in the bunker underneath the Jedi Temple with Cilghal and Lobi still carrying him between them, the subordinate Masters placed him in a chair that stood before a communications and control console. Masters Ramis and Horn were busy placing their respective prisoners, Kyp Durron and Mara Jade Skywalker, into holding cells, with electric stuncuffs on them that made sure they couldn't escape using the Force without getting severe, physically damaging electric shocks.

Once Hamner was seated, Cilghal placed a bacta patch on the cauterized wound that the late Kyle Katarn gave him before he died. But Hamner didn't let Cilghal's doing distract him from raising a holocomm transmission with Supreme Commander Bwua'tu.

It took a few moments longer than Hamner thought that it would take for Bwua'tu to respond, but when the Bothan did, his expression was curled into one of intensity; it was obvious to Hamner that he was in the midst of a battle.

"Master Hamner!" Bwua'tu practically shouted before the leading Jedi Master could say anything. "The fleet up here needs your help! Did you get everything resolved down on the ground?"

"We did," Hamner said. "Are you fighting the Bothans right now? Have they come to Denon as an invasion force?"

"Negative. Or at least very few of the attackers are Bothans, according to our lifeform scanners; but I doubt that it's the Bothans as a people attacking us. We believe it might be a separate force!"

"Separate force?" Hamner asked. An idea struck him; one that he prepared for since Saba Sebatyne went rogue. But first, he had to confirm that she and her allies were, in fact, the attackers.

All it took was a simple reach-out through the Force and a quick brush with the invading forces above, and, indeed, he could sense Sebatyne and several other rogue Jedi, including Jaina Solo and her non-Jedi parents.

"Alright, Commander Bwua'tu, here's what I want you to do..."

.

Saba didn't allow the Force-feeling that came from Kyle Katarn's death - or even the deaths of Kam and Tionne Solusar, whom she felt had fought on Hamner's side until their very ends - to distract her as she continued to pilot her X-wing and blow GA fighters out of the sky. There were still Jedi who were going against Hamner, like Kyp and Mara down on Denon, and they needed the help of the Jedi Rebellion immediately.

So, knowing that the help of one Jedi - or former Jedi, as she kept reminding herself - was better than the help of no Jedi at all, Saba managed to blast and fly her way through all of the opposing starfighters, projectiles, and wreckage until she finally ended up trailing down through Denon's atmosphere. A few GA fighters tried to blast through her energy shields as they followed her down, but thankfully, some Wild Knights - newly-repleted with some non-Force-sensitive yet still highly skilled help, courtesy of Captain Aves - were able to come in behind those fighters and blast them into molecules. From there, Saba's path was fairly cleared as she managed to break through the friction of the atmosphere until she was descending through the stratosphere.

Then, mere moments later, scores of other starfighters, both Jedi Rebellion and Galactic Alliance, followed her down, all the while launching lethal projectiles at each other. Among those Rebellion fighters was Jaina, whose Force-enhanced reflexes and premonitions of danger allowed her to expertly dodge the the projectiles of both friend and foe, which, in turn, allowed her to deliver barrages of laserfire toward the enemy fighters, as was typical of a Jedi of her skills.

In the midst of it all, the _Millennium Falcon_, as piloted by the similarly legendary Han Solo, pumped out laser bolts from its automatic belly turret, blasting away GA fighters as if by ease. And that turret was also aided by the dual quad turrets as honed by the Noghri bodyguards Cakhmaim and Meewalh, who had been sent back to their new homeworld of the fairly restored Wayland sometime after the Yuuzhan Vong War. Now they were back, serving Lady Vader - Leia, who was acting as Han's copilot - as Cakhmaim and Meewalh, along with their entire people, thought that they themselves should do.

"Up ahead, two miles north northwest!" Saba called over the Rebellion's fleetwide transmission. "There's the Jedi Temple!" She said it more for the Rebels whom she figured weren't familiar with the Temple on Denon. "All Jedi, follow me in through the hangar bay! All non-Jedi, keep those GA fighters off of us!"

A series of wordless clicks sounded over the transmission, letting Saba know that the remaining yet still-sizable Rebel fleet would obey her orders.

Soon, the Rebel fighters flew in through the entry of the Temple's hangar bay, and they dislodged from their respective ships - which included Han, Leia, Cakhmaim, Meewalh, and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 from the _Falcon_, and Jaina from her X-wing. Around them, bodies of fallen Jedi - both loyal and treacherous to Hamner - lay among the wreckage and debris that had been the result of the battle. Among them, of course, were Kyle Katarn and Kam and Tionne Solusar.

Saba ignored the bodies, knowing that now was not the time to grieve. Right now, she had to command a task force of Rebels against Hamner; she could sense that he was still alive, and was located within one of the Temple's lower levels.

She was about to give her task force the call to follow her lead toward a door that led into the rest of the Temple before the entryway that they had all come in through above sealed shut.

Saba and everyone who was in the Temple with her, whether they were Force-sensitive or not - as Han, the Noghri, and the droids were - fell to their guard (though Threepio and Artoo could do nothing more aside from complain or twitter, respectively, in fear). The next thing they all knew, the left corners of the walls began to slide a new layer of metal over the sides, ceiling, and even the deck of the hangar bay. During this process, the ships that had landed - or were already parked, such as the Jedi X-wings that were scheduled to depart the planet - were raised up on platforms that appeared beneath their landing skids, which the layer of metal curved around.

The treacherous Jedi and former Jedi in the hangar bay leaped over the incoming layer of metal beneath their feet, and when it finally closed up upon the opposite side of the bay, that was when the present Force-sensitives - now all freed from the uncertainty and curiosity that came from what just happened - activated their lightsabers and struck down at the newly-layered deck beneath them. Some of them even slashed at the reinforced walls to no avail.

Then the familiar voice of Kenth Hamner was heard, as emitted by an unseen loudspeaker in the bay. As he spoke, a transparent, colorless and odorless gas began to seep into the hangar.

"Miss Sebatyne," Hamner said in a scornful tone, "I have prepared this trap for the likes of you; traitors, that is. No lightsaber or blaster will penetrate this blastproof metal."

Seeing the incoming gas, Saba immediately brought up her commlink and tried to key it into Aves's frequency. Only static returned.

"These walls block off comm frequencies, in case any of you are thinking of calling for help," Hamner's projected voice continued. "But don't fret; this gas is merely an anesthetic. I don't wish to kill anymore of you than my loyal Jedi and I already have; no, that would be too good for all of you."

Seeing no other way, the gathered Force-sensitives - as well as the _Millennium Falcon_'s crew - rushed back toward their ships; they sealed up their canopies and boarding ramp respectively, free of the knockout gas. That might at least buy them some time to come up with some kind of plan to get out of here.

"I thought that you might all do that as well," Hamner said smugly.

A powerful electric current then surged through each and every raised platform, prompting the canopies of the Jedi starfighters to pop off and the _Falcon_'s boarding ramp to lower against its programming.

Immediately, Saba inhaled one last bit of oxygen, as she sensed that every one of the other Force-sensitives with her had done, before the incoming gas finally enveloped them.

But from his position in the Temple's bunker, along with his subordinate Masters - Cilghal and Lobi, along with Ramis and Horn who returned from imprisoning Durron and Jade Skywalker - Hamner waited for about an hour before he and the Masters still loyal to him sensed everyone finally collapse from the knockout effects of the gas.

As if knowing that the Order's traitors had been defeated, Hamner's holocomm beeped, allowing the quarter-sized holographic form of Supreme Commander Bwua'tu to appear.

"Master Hamner," the Bothan said, "the unknown enemy fleet that attacked us has retreated and jumped into hyperspace at various points. Have you managed to take care of things on your side yet?"

Hamner nodded with a victorious grin. "I can assure you, Commander, that things are now under control here in the Jedi Temple."

"Even at the loss of life that we have endured," Lobi's voice chimed in from behind. "On both sides, actually."

Hamner put Lobi's words out of his mind.

"It's good that you had that little trap of yours installed, Master Hamner," Bwua'tu commented.

"It was something to prepare for, Commander," Hamner replied. "You never know if there will come an implacable enemy who will overrun the Jedi Temple's defenses; this was something that must have been done." He had kept this trap a secret from the Jedi Order; the trap had been an additional construction that the Temple went through during its construction on Denon, and he allowed no one but himself and the non-Jedi builders working on it - who all worked under the guise of minor adjustments tech adjustments while the hangar was being worked on - to know about it.

"I just didn't think we'd have to use it on fellow Jedi," Ramis said as grimly as Lobi.

"I await to hear your report, Master Hamner," Bwua'tu told him. "As well, this unexpected attack has caused us a setback. We'll need at least two days to shore up our forces again for a more prepared attack at Bothawui."

Hamner repressed a scowl. "Very well, Commander. We could use the time to make sure that everything stays in control."

Bwua'tu nodded, then the Bothan terminated the connection.

Hamner replaced the holocomm and activated the Temple-wide loudspeaker system. "Attention, all Jedi; you have two hours before the traitors in the hangar bay wake up from the sleeping gas's effects. I want every Jedi down there to collect them and place them into electric stuncuffs and a suitable cell. That is all." He then ended the transmission before standing up and turning to his subordinate Masters.

"Well, let's go," he said impatiently as he waved to the door behind them.

They all nodded wordlessly before turning and taking the door that led out of the bunker, and Hamner followed along like a dark shadow.


	69. Chapter 69

"Thank you for sharing this information, Commander Bwua'tu," Tenel Ka said to the GA Supreme Commander's pint-sized holographic figure. Seated in her throne aboard the Battle Dragon _Dragon Queen_, which was still in orbit over Denon, the Queen Mother had listened to Bwua'tu's update that, because of the invasion force of the unknown enemy that had retreated, the jump to take Bothawui would not take place for another two days.

"I will inform my fleet about this matter," Tenel Ka concluded.

"You are welcome, Your Majesty, and thank you, as well," Bwua'tu returned formally. "But before you sign off, I am obligated to identify, to you, the members of the invasion force that were captured down in the Jedi Temple: they were Saba Sebatyne and all of the rogue Jedi who abandoned the Jedi Order with her."

Tenel Ka's eyes widened at this information. "What has happened to them?"

"Master Hamner has informed me that Miss Sebatyne and the Jedi who came with her have all been captured alive," Bwua'tu told her. "As for the Jedi who were already in the Jedi Temple's hangar bay by the time this invasion force was discovered, many of them had died, including turncoat Jedi Master Kyle Katarn. I will download you a list of all treacherous Jedi who have been accounted for one way or another, Your Majesty."

"I would very much appreciate that, thank you, Commander Bwua'tu," Tenel Ka replied, barely restraining herself from the anxiety that she was now feeling over this issue. "Will that be all?"

"It will be, Your Majesty," Bwua'tu replied, not seeming to notice the ever-so slightly off-balanced tone that Tenel Ka had just displayed. "Good day to you."

"Good day to you, Commander," Tenel Ka said before signalling the handmaiden behind the portable holoprojector to shut it off.

The handmaiden complied and wordlessly turned with the hovercart carrying the holoprojector to exit the _Dragon Queen_'s throne room, leaving Tenel Ka alone with the list of treacherous Jedi that soon appeared on her personal datapad, courtesy of Supreme Commander Bwua'tu.

As she looked the list over, she felt almost relieved to see that not a single Jedi who died was anyone she knew or really cared about... almost, as her heart still ached over the mere fact that Jedi had to die at all by the hands of other Jedi. The additional general feeling of sadness that came from knowing about this loss of life, as well, had also made the presence growing within her react with a mute grimness that was beyond her - the future baby's - comprehension to fully understand. Still, Tenel Ka thought, she should not feel too badly; their betrayal of the Jedi Order was their folly, regardless of some of the more questionable things that Master Hamner did... like kill Tenel Ka's grandmother Augwynne Djo.

Then Tenel Ka came to the list of those Jedi who were captured, and her heart ached even more. Her friends - her fellow survivors at Myrkr - were among their number; Zekk, Lowbacca, Tesar Sebatyne along with his mother Saba... and Jaina and her parents, even if the latter weren't Jedi. Mara Jade Skywalker and Kyp Durron were also among the Masters who had turned on Hamner's Order who were captured. And the image of Hamner murdering Augwynne sprang into the forefront of Tenel Ka's mind, as if she were remembering the incident, as if she was really there when it happened... and she felt sickened.

Jaina and all the others, they were all reasonable people, Tenel Ka knew. So for them to turn on Hamner, Tenel Ka knew that they had to have their reasons; and again, Tenel Ka figured, Augwynne was one of them.

Tenel Ka tapped a key command into the arm of her throne on her own remaining arm's side, bringing up the holoprojected form of her fleet's admiral.

"Admiral Hessel," Tenel Ka addressed, "order all of our ships to disengage from the Galactic Alliance fleet; we are returning back to the Transitory Mists."

Hessel's eyebrows lifted in curiosity. "May I ask why, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. We must prepare for war against the Alliance; but we must engage now. We need better preparations. I will explain our reasons for fighting them once we return, Admiral. Do not bother to inform Supreme Commander Bwua'tu or anyone else in the Galactic Alliance, Admiral."

Hessel's disbelieving expression dropped into one of stoic obedience. "Of course, Your Majesty. I will execute your orders right away."

Tenel Ka then terminated the link and sat back in contemplation, wondering if she was doing the right thing now.

To turn her back on the Galactic Alliance, on the Jedi Order, was treason, was more than enough reason for banishment from the Jedi Order; banishment from an organization whose leader murdered her grandmother, who would imprison her friends for reasons that were more than likely worth fighting for. For that, Tenel Ka would accept it.

It only took a couple of minutes, but the Hapan fleet soon broke away from the GA fleet; they all ignored hails from the home fleet until the beeps on the Battle Dragons' comm consoles ceased altogether as the Hapan capital ships jumped into hyperspace.

.

Nam Chorios was honestly one of the worst planets that Jacen had ever been to, and that was including worlds that had been terraformed by the Yuuzhan Vong; the harsh sandstorms and the frigid low temperatures, not to mention those disgusting drochs, that made up the homeworld of the Theran Listeners were things that Jacen was more than happy to leave behind well before he ever had the _Solo Quest_ jump into hyperspace.

But if there was one good thing that Jacen could say that gave him any enlightenment whatsoever, it was for what he came to this world for in the first place: at least some knowledge of what the Theran Listeners taught.

Thankfully, unlike the Aing-Tii monks, Master Taru Durn and the other Master Listeners weren't very insistent at Jacen for leaving early for what little time he spent with them. They understood what he told them, and they, in fact, supported him in his quest to return to Denon.

Once and for all, Jacen knew that he had to confront Master Hamner one way or another; it didn't matter how much more powerful Hamner was in the Force or in combat skills. Jacen had felt his family - Jaina and their parents - in danger, and when he read what had happened on the HoloNet - the capture of so many rogue Jedi like Saba Sebatyne - he knew that he had to go.

Before he left, though, he thanked Master Durn for what little he did educate him on; and that was in the technique of mnemotherapy. It was fascinating to Jacen that not only could he see another person's memories in vivid detail when he got into close physical contact with them, but he even had gained the ability to gather up a person's memories and either keep it for himself or vanquish it.

It was certainly useful on the woman with post-traumatic stress disorder who had come to the Theran Listeners, looking for a removal of her memories. It was a service that the Theran Listeners offered for free; seeing as how Nam Chorios's planetary government already funded the Theran Listeners, it would not only be needless, but even illegal, for the Listeners to take any money from members of the local population.

Jacen had already mastered mnemotherapy surprisingly easy by the time the woman - who chose to keep her name anonymous from the Theran Listeners, which was acceptable - had come to them. And in lieu of commencing the removal of her traumatic memories himself, or by making any of the other Masters, students, or advanced students do it, Durn allowed Jacen to do it.

And so Jacen did; he looked into the anonymous woman's mind, and saw that a recent event had triggered a repressed memory from her past. It was when she was a child, when she lost a beloved pet to a set of life-sucking drochs; at the woman's consent, Jacen removed that painful memory.

And he kept it for himself, feeling that that memory, as hard as it was, was something that had to be carried until its bearer's life ended, regardless of whether or not the bearer actually experienced the event firsthand. He knew that for all the pain that he went through, he wouldn't want any of his painful memories wiped away; they made him into the man he was today, and without that, he felt, he would be nothing.

Did Jacen feel some level of antipathy towards the anonymous woman of whom he had removed that traumatic memory? On some level, he did, but it was overwhelmed by the empathy he did feel for her; he didn't blame her for not wanting that burden to plague her mind for the rest of her life.

But that wasn't where Jacen's thoughts were now; right now, he only wanted to get back to Denon and confront Master Hamner. Hopefully, they could avoid further bloodshed and talk peacefully; maybe Jacen was being naive, and maybe he would be placed in a prison with Jaina and the others for his trouble, but even if he wanted to, he knew that violence wouldn't be an option anyway; not when Hamner had the support of a larger majority of the Jedi Order, and the full support of the Galactic Alliance, at his back.

Of course, after what Durn told him, Jacen's thoughts were only partially on Hamner and his demented control of the Jedi Order. His mind was also partially divided on the man that Durn told him about: Garis Boric.

Boric was a former member of the Theran Listeners who, not long before the Yuuzhan Vong War, had quit their order and joined the Jedi, much to the Listeners' mix of chagrin and relief. Chagrin that they had lost a member who was so promising in their ranks, and relief that they no longer had to deal with someone like him; an arrogant, pompous, self-deluded individual who believed that power was the end-all-be-all of all things.

That was worrying in and of itself, and already Jacen had deduced how someone like Garis Boric might be a great supporter of Hamner's Order. But what Durn told him increased the anxiety that Jacen had just gained for this individual.

"Do you recall that roiling shock-wave of death that had occurred through the Force, Jacen?" Durn had asked him before the latter left Nam Chorios.

Jacen nodded; he felt that it was Dathomir that had been destroyed. The planet's destruction, along with the extermination of every living being that was concurrently on it, had not been covered by the HoloNet, what with Dathomir's affiliation with the Galactic Alliance being null and void; at this point, for all anyone in the galaxy who wasn't a Force-sensitive cared, Dathomir might as well have been an unnamed planet in the Unknown Regions, unworthy of notice.

But Jacen had noticed; and he knew that all of the Jedi, whether they were on Hamner's side or not, had also noticed.

"Well, when that shock-wave occurred," Durn began to elaborate, "I had a premonition that even the other Master Listeners lacked: I saw Garis's face in the midst of that destruction. Not as a victim, but as the harbinger of death itself."

Now Jacen was truly worried; how could a Jedi be personally responsible for so much death and destruction? Physically, Jacen was aware of the existence of baradium missiles, which had the capacity to destroy ample-sized worlds; so Jacen could imagine that Boric was armed with one, and that baradium missile must have destroyed Dathomir. But that wasn't what concerned Jacen, at least not in the moment.

What concerned Jacen was the fact that Boric could even have the audacity to call himself a Jedi, or still be allowed into the Order after what he did; and he had little to no doubt that Boric acted on the behest of Kenth Hamner.

All the more reason to stop Hamner then; and all the more likely that the impending confrontation would culminate in physical violence, Jacen mused grimly.

These thoughts whirled in Jacen's mind as the _Solo Quest_ was bound for Denon; the only times he wasn't entirely focused on the anxiety that came with these thoughts was when he had to drop the _Quest_ out for necessary course corrections.

One of those brought him to one of the few people in the galaxy that could brighten even his darkest days... even when he didn't know it.

An organic freighter - disguised as a more traditional, mechanical ship - courtesy of Zonama Sekot waited in one of the several systems that separated Nam Chorios from Denon; and aboard it, Jacen could sense Danni Quee's presence.

Jacen answered the hail without hesitation.

"Hello, Jacen," Danni's voice came over.

"Hey, Danni. How'd you know I'd be here?"

"I reached out through the Force and looked for you; and I found you."

_Just as I found you, all those years ago, at Helska 4..._ Jacen thought. "Why did you look for me?"

"You know as well as I do," Danni said, "since I read the news, too, that our friends are in trouble. Hamner has gone mad, and we know it; he must be stopped. And I think I can help you."

"I don't want you to get involved with this, Danni," Jacen said sternly. "You're not a combatant like I am. If anything goes wrong, you can get hurt. And don't tell me that because you participated in the Yuuzhan Vong War that that gives you an excuse to join me; I can't risk that."

"Jacen... I can't risk going on without you if something does go wrong."

He went stiffly silent at her implying words.

"I could never forgive myself," Danni continued, "for leaving you out to dry when you needed help the most. When your family abandoned you, when you were left to take so many lives for Sekot... I feel so guilty for leaving you alone when that was the worst thing for you. And you know that being alone is a terrible thing for you as well, Jacen; don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. Let me help you, not just with Hamner, but with everything else. Please let me do this for you."

Jacen grimaced; he didn't know how Danni could possibly help him in any way at this point, especially when Tenel Ka couldn't do anything for him when he was with her. But more than that, he really didn't want to put Danni into the line of fire.

"Well, Jacen? What do you say?"

He sighed. "Alright, listen to me, you can tag along with me to Denon. But if you feel the slightest tinge that something has gone wrong, don't you dare hesitate to leave. Just leave as soon as you feel any kind of danger through the Force. Do you understand that, Danni?"

"I understand, Jacen," Danni replied without hesitation.

"But will you actually do it?"

A moment of silence, and then a light chuckle was uttered from Danni's throat. "How sharp of you to notice that. I see you've dropped the drinking; I can still feel through the Force that you're very sad, depressed, and lonely, as I did before when I visited you on Hapes. But you're not hiding from that anymore, are you?"

"It still hurts, yes," Jacen admitted. "Everything that's happened because of the Yuuzhan Vong War; and having to kill those Bothans and those ysalamiri for Zonama Sekot and Jaina. But I've come to realize that burying myself in alcoholism and hedonism wasn't the best way to avoid my problems." He chuckled humorlessly. "I guess returning to my sojourn did."

"You want me to come aboard, Jacen?" Danni asked.

Jacen thought it over; but he shook himself from it. "We have to help Jaina and everyone back on Denon. Or at least I have to."

"You're right." Though Danni's tone was one of agreement, Jacen sensed a tinge of disappointment nevertheless. "Then let's go."

And as Jacen and Danni jumped into hyperspace for Denon, he thought, _Hopefully, Danni, we can make things right again; and not just for the Jedi..._


	70. Chapter 70

The _Solo Quest_ and Danni's disguised Sekotan freighter dropped out of hyperspace into the Denon system, where Jacen and Danni were both immediately hailed to identify themselves and state their intentions by different Orbital Control operators. Both of them had answered honestly, with Jacen disclosing that he had arrived to see Master Hamner, and Danni would be coming with Jacen to see Hamner.

The both of them were told to hold on their current positions, and Jacen and Danni waited for several minutes. At the end of those minutes, a pint-sized holographic projection of Kenth Hamner appeared over the comm consoles of both the _Solo Quest_ and Danni's freighter, and they were all synced up so that they could talk to each other.

"Mister Solo, Miss Quee," Hamner addressed them in an impatient, slightly irritable tone that still carried enough formality to make it passably polite. "What do you want?"

"As we told our Orbital Control operators, Master Hamner," Jacen said, "I only wanna speak with you."

"_We_ want to speak with you, Master Hamner," Danni interjected.

Jacen stifled a frustrated sigh; Danni wasn't going to make this easy on herself, he thought.

"About what?" Hamner asked.

"About your capture of the rogue Jedi," Jacen answered.

"What I and the rest of the Jedi who continue to follow me had done, Mister Solo, was perfectly legal, especially after it was run by Chief of State Dorvan," Hamner said. "If you wish to speak to your family, feel free to see them during the visiting hours of the Cal Omas Correctional Institute where they are all being held for their treason."

"What they did wasn't treason, Hamner," Jacen said, his tone clearly indicating that he had enough. "It's what Jedi should be doing when the Order is being run by a tyrannical madman."

Hamner's angered gaze fixed on Jacen. "Are you sure you only wish to see me, Mister Solo," the leading Jedi Master retorted in a mock-friendly tone that then dripped with venom when he then asked, "or simply kill me?"

"Don't make this any harder on yourself than you already have," Jacen replied. "Just remember, I have the ability to form a protective cocoon around you that will transport you over to the bridge of my ship where I'll have the advantage. Or rather, I could forgo the cocoon altogether and just transport you over here right now; would you like to know what fatal results could come from what happens to an oxygen-breathing sentient being when they're in the midst of a teleportation without a cocoon, Hamner?"

The leading Jedi Master's hardened stare softened almost immediately by the comprehension that every word that Jacen said was true. But then that flashed away when he grinned.

"You don't have the guts to do that, Solo," he snarled. "You're too weak and pathetic in will, if not raw power; you could never kill with the Force again. You showed that when you refused to stop the Bothans in their home system. You have nothing but an empty threat."

"I may not have the gall to kill you by sending you unprotected during a teleportation," Jacen acknowledged neutrally, "but I could still transport you here protected; and, like I said, I can get the drop on you before you can bring your lightsaber to bear. And believe me, I have virtually no qualms about killing without the Force. So allow me to see you down in the Jedi Temple, on your own terms, and we can just talk."

"Even if I were to agree to this, Solo, what makes you think you can gain anything from such a conversation?" Hamner asked. "Do you really expect to change my mind on what the likes of Kyp Durron and your family had done?"

"I hope to do just that, actually," Jacen replied patiently.

Hamner smirked. "You're incredibly naive. But I'll humor you, if only because of the legitimate threat that you pose with that Aing-Tii teleportation ability alone."

"Thank you, Master Hamner," Jacen said, resuming a somewhat formal and polite tone. "Oh, and one more thing: I'd like to also meet one of your Jedi Knights with you. His name is Garis Boric."

"I'll arrange for Jedi Boric to meet with us in my office, Mister Solo," Hamner replied.

And he said nothing more before terminating the connection from his end, leaving Jacen and Danni alone over the link.

"Are we really gonna have to argue about you staying here in case things get bad?" Jacen asked her.

"You won't meet with him if I do come, huh?" Danni replied in a disappointed tone.

"This is as far as I'm willing to take you, Danni," Jacen said morosely. "So, please, don't make this anymore difficult than it has to be."

Danni grimaced. "Sounds like what you said to Hamner."

"Well, I'm begging you to stay up here while I'm down meeting Hamner. So, please, if you wanna help me, don't make me worry about you more than I already am. Okay, the fact that you're here means that if Hamner and I do come to a lightsaber duel or something, that means that the trouble that comes will bring the GA Orbital Defense Force against you, Danni, and they'll catch you; and let's face it, you're not an ace pilot like my dad or sister where you can just escape by the seat of your pants. So if I send you a nudge through the Force, that means you get the hell outta the system, got it?"

"Jacen, I didn't come all the way out here with you just to flee if something goes wrong," Danni countered. "I came here to help you, and that's exactly what I intend to do, whatever way I can."

Jacen sighed. "Then let's hope you will be able to help in some way. But can you at least stay up here, at least?"

"I'll do that," Danni replied reluctantly.

"Thanks," Jacen said in a way that didn't express the full extent of his gratitude for Danni's compliance. "And, hopefully, the Force will be with us instead of Hamner." He then cut off the line and proceeded down through Denon's atmosphere.


	71. Chapter 71

For what seemed to be the thousandth time, Jaina tried to summon up the Force as she sat on the cot in the prison cell that she shared with Aunt Mara. But for what seemed to be the thousandth time, a suitably powerful electric shock prevented her from doing just that, and she fell back along the wall behind her, literally stunned into submission again.

Beside Jaina, Mara sighed in defeat. "And to think that after the ysalamiri were all gone, that there wouldn't be any other way to keep us from using the Force."

Jaina grimaced. "Which makes it all the more heinous for Hamner to have ordered Kirana Ti to die."

"If I'm not mistaken, this little development came out just recently," Mara said in an off-handed manner. She smirked mirthlessly. "Figures; for all the technological developments that the galaxy had made, and only now do we come up with a way to repress Force-use in Jedi, just after Kirana died."

"Yeah. But Jacen wiped out the last of the ysalamiri, you know. It hurt him a lot; and I bet all these shocks aren't half as bad as what he felt."

Mara looked morose. "Still bruisin' over the fact that he disowned you as his sister?"

Jaina nodded wordlessly, and her sad expression turned into an ironic half-smile. "And to think, that just when I was about to accept _him_ back, he goes and disowns _me_. The Force has got quite a sense of humor, don't it, Aunt Mara?"

"Oh, the times I've thought that, Jaina," Mara replied in a reflective tone. "If I had a credit for all that I thought that the Force was making a joke of my life... well, you get the picture." She then nodded down at Jaina's stuncuffs. "But all the same, you better cut that out or you'll just end up killing yourself from all the shocks."

"What else are we supposed to do?" Jaina asked. "Just sit here and wait for the government to declare us guilty of treason and have us all executed?"

"If we're lucky, we might only just get life in prison," Mara replied with a wry, humorless grin. "And quite frankly, I think I deserve it at the very least." She then looked away from Jaina for a moment with a look of introspection. "I don't think I can forgive myself for Kam and Tionne; and I'm not sure if Ben could ever forgive me."

"Well, I'm not gonna wait for any life death sentence, Aunt Mara," Jaina said with a tinge of sympathy for the older woman's plight.

Jaina then concentrated herself through the Force in one more attempt to break out of her stuncuffs.

"Look, Jaina, just st-"

This time, however, the intense Force-energy that Jaina placed behind her effort didn't end with her receiving an electric shock, but rather, it led to an invisible impact that ripped out the prison door before them.

Jaina and Mara both looked at what the former had done, and they then looked down at their wrists to find that their shock-inducing binds had all but disappeared, as if into thin air.

_Move now_, Jacen's voice said into their minds.

And it soon dawned on both Mara and Jaina what had just happened; Jacen had come back, and he had used his Aing-Tii teleportation ability to vanquish the stuncuffs from his sister and aunt's wrists. No doubt he had also done the same for his and Jaina's parents, if not the rest of the Jedi prisoners here.

A few seconds later, a pair of GA prison guards appeared at the threshold of Jaina and Mara's door-less prison cell, pointing their standard-issue rifles straight at them.

"Don't move!" the one on the left said.

But move Jaina and Mara did, for with slight flicks of each of one of their wrists, the blaster rifles flew from the guards' grasp and into the rogue Jedi's. They each set their illegally-confiscated weapons to stun and instantly downed both guards simultaneously.

"Looks like it's time for a riot," Mara said as she stood up and headed for the broken threshold.

Jaina grimaced as she followed her aunt. "Won't that allow other inmates - you know, criminals who should actually be here - a chance to escape, too?"

Mara stopped and looked back at her niece with a sly smile. "Not if we make sure they don't." She turned back and resumed her course; Jaina followed along almost reluctantly.

.

Neither Hamner nor Garis Boric were sitting in the former's office when Jacen arrived; they both regarded the former Jedi with cold glares.

After the door automatically shut behind him, Jacen coyly asked, "So, Master Hamner, had any change of mind about how you're running the Order?"

Hamner smirked with malice instead of mirth; beside him, Boric continued to glare at Jacen with the same hateful expression.

"Being sarcastic isn't something that naturally suits you, Jacen," Hamner replied. "Your father, your sister, even your mother; I could even see it in your dead brother."

Jacen didn't bother responding to the mention of Anakin as Hamner continued.

"So, if anything, it is significantly more disgusting to see it in you, a washout from this Order, as if you should have the audacity to challenge my authority. You, a pathetically naive philosopher who believes that everything can be solved so easily with peace. I'm sickened at your stupidity; have you learned nothing from the Yuuzhan Vong War?"

"Clearly, I've learned more than you have," Jacen replied. "If anything, I should be teaching you a thing or two about the Force, Hamner. Along with Garis Boric over here."

"You have nothing to teach me, Solo," Boric replied with seething anger.

"And yet I sense that you're jealous of the powers that I wield, aren't you?" Jacen asked the Jedi Knight. "The powers that I learned when I left this Order. Powers that you could use to, say, end the Bothan War by massacring, what, ninety percent of the species? Rough estimate, I know, but still, it'd make sense for someone like you, Garis Boric; the same man who not only killed Talon Karrde and his crew, but also wiped out all life on Dathomir using a baradium missile, I believe it was?"

Boric's eyes widened at Jacen stating this. "How did you know about that?"

"Eh, the Force; how else?" Jacen retorted. "And I know that you did it for Master Hamner; didn't you, Garis?"

"He followed my orders as a good Jedi should, Solo," Hamner stated proudly. "The Dathomiri Witches needed to be dealt with for their insolence."

"To what point?" Jacen asked. "You know, I could understand if you were a tyrannical dictator and you wanted to set an example, yet, from what I understand, the destruction of Dathomir isn't exactly public knowledge yet. Which means that you know that what you did was wrong, or at least wouldn't be approved of by the Jedi Order or the general public at large; and that basically entails that what you did does not follow the ethics of the Jedi. Combined with the fact that the Dathomiri Witches posed no threat to you or the rest of the galaxy after you and the GA left, and all I can see for a motive is pure old-fashioned, Sith-like revenge."

Jacen looked at Boric. "You're a sick man, and you need help; along with you, Kenth Hamner. And that's why you don't deserve to lead the Jedi Order."

Hamner clapped in mockery. "Sick, am I?" he retorted. "I do what needs to be done while you mope around the galaxy, crying yourself to sleep over the fact that you couldn't save your own uncle from some snake venom."

"Do what needs to be done, huh? Yeah, I don't think I have to bring up what Palpatine might have thought about that."

Boric growled and took a step toward Jacen, only for Hamner to patiently intercede by bringing his hand in front of the corrupt Jedi Knight's chest.

"Your comparison between myself and Palpatine is nothing new, Solo."

"If that's the case, you should really be worried about how you run things around here," Jacen interjected.

Hamner ignored him. "And so far, for all the tap-dancing between us, and your accusations toward myself and Jedi Boric, you still haven't been able to convince me why I should release my hold of the Jedi Order."

"Well, I could very well tell you something like, 'Luke Skywalker wouldn't approve of what you're doing; he'd condemn you' or something along those lines. Those are thoughts I hold to, by the way. But no, something - and it's not the Force, mind you - tells me that you've already convinced yourself that my uncle would actually condone what you do if he were still alive. So you tell me: Along with allowing Boric here to get away to what he did to Karrde and his crew, coupled with allowing him to commit genocide on a planetary scale, what else did you do? Did you, by any chance, have anything to do with the change in GA leadership from Cal Omas to Releqy A'Kla?"

"Why do you think that?" Hamner asked warily.

"Omas didn't want you to go after the Dathomiri Witches, did he?" Jacen asked. "So you killed him."

Hamner was hesitant. "Yes, I did."

"And Releqy A'Kla?"

Hamner shook his head. "That was because of the Bothans."

"Well, at least you're not totally responsible for _all_ that's happened," Jacen said offhandedly. "So that just leaves me with this question for you, Master Hamner; what are you going to do now that I've made these accusations to you and Jedi Boric?"

"I would ask you to leave," Hamner replied, "but something that isn't the Force tells me that you won't comply."

"So what does that leave you and Jedi Boric to do?" Jacen asked in a challenging tone.

Hamner and Boric responded by simultaneously activating their lightsabers.

"And that's considering the threat that you pose against us with your abilities," Hamner said.

"In that case," Jacen said, as if neither Jedi before him had activated their lightsabers, "before we duel, I have to ask you a question, which necessitates that you answer my question with a question: Since I brought the two of you here to discuss how you've been fragging things up around here, why do you think I didn't bring any of the Jedi still loyal to you aside from Jedi Boric here, Hamner?"

At this, Hamner straightened up from his fighting pose; Boric did the same by his Master's lead.

"Why did you not ask the other Jedi to attend this little meeting, Solo?" Hamner asked.

"Because you wouldn't have admitted your crimes to them, would you?" Jacen asked.

"What are you getting at?" Hamner inquired, ignoring Jacen's own question.

"What if I told you that every single Jedi on your side just listened in on what you had just told me?" Jacen asked.

"A wire?" Boric asked in horror.

Jacen shook his head. "Not enough time, obviously, between me coming here and making contact with the rest of the Jedi Order. But I did use my Aing-Tii teleportation technique to take away your commlinks."

At this, both Hamner and Boric reached for where their commlinks would be, only for the both of them to find nothing at their grasp.

"And the reason that I teleported your commlinks away?" Jacen asked. "So you wouldn't figure out that I, with my own commlink-" he waved a hand at the commlink hanging on his belt "-tapped into the emergency channel for the entire Jedi Order; funny thing that for all of your obsession with security, you didn't think to change the comm codes so former Jedi like me wouldn't tap into it. Then again, I guess it does make sense for someone like you, who relies more on himself than others for help, huh?"

"So, this means..." Hamner's voice trailed off in horror at the utter realization of what just happened.

At this point, Jacen picked up the commlink. "You got all that, Master Horn?"

"I got it all," Corran Horn's voice returned with scorn. "How could you do any of this, Kenth? We trusted you!"

Hamner stammered desperately. "It's all a lie! I-it's Jacen Solo! _He_ was the one who said all of that! He learned some kind of new Force-technique that allows him to replicate my voi-"

"Shove it," Octa Ramis's voice came over the line. "It's all over, Hamner."

"And to think I fought for you," Tresina Lobi's voice said.

"I'm ashamed to say that I, as a healer, followed in your ways, Kenth," Cilghal said over Jacen's commlink.

"And do you know why else I took away your commlinks?" Jacen asked. "Well, along with also using the Force to shut off your desk comm console, it was so that neither of you can hear the reports about the prison breakout at the Cal Omas Correctional Institute."

At this, Hamner swiftly turned away from Jacen and headed over to his window. There, he peered out through it and saw smoke rising in various places from the aforementioned prison; and around and in it, prisoners of various races were rioting about, battling the prison guards and the police forces that had arrived to stop them.

Gritting his teeth and growling in anger, Hamner whirled back to face Jacen. "You'll pay for this, Solo!"

And as Hamner leaped through the air toward Jacen, Boric cast out his free hand to send the former Jedi flying back from a Force-wave, where he violently crashed through the office door behind him.


	72. Chapter 72

With Aunt Mara at her side, Jaina continuously beat down and threw away various non-Jedi prison inmates, guards, and police officers with a combination of Force-waves and physical blows as they stood back-to-back in the Cal Omas Correctional Institute's open-topped courtyard. Around the both of them, a war was being waged between the authority figures - the police and the prison guards - and the inmates - both Jedi, even if they were considered to be former Jedi, and not - with laser bolts being fired every which way from the weapons of either party. And because of this, Jaina and Mara would occasionally have to also flip and dodge out of the way, relying half on their danger sense and half on their Force-enhanced reflexes.

Several minutes after the riot started, Jaina finally found the opportunity to gain a weapon for both herself and Aunt Mara. Two guards - a human and a Rodian - had aimed their standard issue blasters up at her, only for her to use the Force to wrest the guns out of their grasps so that the weapons flew straight into the palms of her hands. She then handed the rifle in her left hand over to Mara behind her, and they simultaneously set the blasters from kill to stun. With that, Jaina brought both the blasters' rightful owners down with well-placed blasts to their chests before leveling her confiscated weapon to take aim at a murderous-looking Zabrak charging for her; he was brought down easily.

Two minutes later, with the battle still waging around her and Mara, Jaina called to her aunt, "I'm almost out!"

"Same here!" Mara replied.

But, as if those pronouncements were what summoned it, a sleek-looking black freighter appeared over the courtyard, weaving its way around the lasers being fired from behind it by the X-wing on its tail.

Jaina was about to put the presence of the freighter out of her mind when the pilot of that freighter contacted her through the Force.

_Jaina_, the panicked voice of Danni Quee communed. _Where's your lightsaber? Where are the lightsabers of all the Jedi?_

Knowing that she couldn't afford the distraction offered by Danni's contact, Jaina jumped and flipped away from Mara's backside before tossing her aunt her nearly-depleted blaster rifle for what good it could still possibly do. Mara took no offense at this abandonment, as she also sensed that her niece was somehow distracted.

Not long after, Jaina found cover behind an overturned table and positioned it so that it was away from any of the fighting.

_Danni?_ she sent out.

_Yes, it's me. Now answer the question_.

She wanted to ask how the blonde scientist was contacting her so well like this through the Force, but right now, it didn't matter; what was important was that, in the midst of all the combat around them, they had to keep their communications short. _  
_

_Let me reach out to mine_, Jaina replied.

She then reached out, looking for the crystal that was housed in the hilt of her lightsaber, and found that it was in the level of the prison compound...

_Directly below me_, Jaina concluded for Danni.

_Good_, Danni came back. _Now I need help with this fighter_!_  
_

Jaina started to wonder how she could help Danni get rid of the X-wing chasing her when a Devaronian guard appeared and leveled her blaster rifle up to her face. But before the guard could pull the trigger, Jaina went into a Force-blur of motion, wherein she kicked the rifle out of the Devaronian's hands before leaping to her feet and punching the guard directly up her jaw, knocking her out instantly. Jaina then reached out and recalled the blaster rifle in her hands, now having an idea of how she could get rid of that X-wing on Danni's tail.

_Head down to my position now!_ Jaina Force-called to Danni.

The freighter then rocketed down toward Jaina's position, making slight maneuvers that allowed the lasers still being fired by the X-wing behind it to streak harmlessly past. The bolts made minor smoking craters in the ground around Jaina, which she payed no mind to as she set the blaster rifle in her hands to overload.

She then looked back up, rolled off to her right as the freighter continued to plummet in her direction, and with a Force-enhanced leap, she jumped up and threw the overloaded rifle right toward the canopy of the pursuing X-wing. The resultant explosion from the overloaded blaster ripped through the starfighter's energy shields to rip further through the canopy so that it killed the pilot inside.

Jaina felt a tinge of regret, but she knew that it was necessary; and she hoped that that didn't make her into anymore of a monster than Kenth Hamner.

Nevertheless, the move on the X-wing worked, and the death of its pilot, coupled with the now-fried controls, sent the starfighter to begin a death-trailing spiral past the boundaries of the prison courtyard to explode somewhere in the underworld of Denon.

And at the same time that that had happened, Danni's freighter fired off several lasers into the permacrete ground on which Jaina had stood on when she acquired the overloaded blaster rifle; Danni's bolts thus caused a giant hole for her freighter to plummet into, and she then leveled off in a slightly clumsy way - indicative of just how much piloting experience she had yet to acquire - as she found herself in a giant storage room filled with confiscated weapons.

Many of them, along the walls of the behemoth storage area, were the lightsabers of the inmate Jedi.

Jaina hurried over to the hole and looked down to find all the lightsabers waiting for her and all the remaining Jedi inmates. She grinned in satisfaction before leaping down and inside to reclaim her weapon.


	73. Chapter 73

Jacen wasn't even able to make sure that he had sure footing as he was mercilessly backed down the corridor that led away from Hamner's office. Before him, the reasons for why he was being so hasty in his backwards retreat, Boric and Hamner himself, were striking out at him furiously with their lightsabers, and it was all Jacen could do to employ every technique he could to make sure that neither of his opponents' blades got through his whirling defenses. Hence, he knew that if he, say, tripped and fell back to the floor, it would give Hamner and Boric all the opportunity they needed to strike him dead.

But, since the three of them weren't the only ones out in the corridor right then, it didn't take long before the duel ceased altogether, as two different Force-blows slammed them to opposite walls in the corridor. Jacen stopped defending himself almost immediately and began to pant heavily from all the exertion before turning to find who his saviors were.

And standing there were all four of the other Jedi Masters - Corran Horn, Tresina Lobi, Octa Ramis, and Cilghal - with several Jedi Knights and apprentices standing behind them. Lobi and Ramis had their hands up, for they were both pinning Hamner and Boric to the walls behind them respectively.

The two Jedi Masters kept their grasp on their captives as they each walked up to them.

"I remember," Lobi said to Hamner morosely, "standing by and watching when you took Kirana Ti's life. You denied her the chance for redemption - a chance to seek help - for what she had done. And that is why we all intend to make sure that you get that help, so we wouldn't stoop to your own low levels, Kenth."

Hamner growled as he vainly struggled in Lobi's grasp, just as Boric did in Ramis's.

But before anything else could happen, a few lightsabers in the small crowd of Jedi Knights and apprentices behind the other two Masters ignited, and they quickly slashed down several standing Jedi. From there, pandemonium ensued as the surviving Jedi turned on those who just killed their fellows, activating their own lightsabers in retaliation.

And because of the resultant confusion, both Lobi and Ramis's concentrations were divided, which allowed Hamner and Boric to break out of their captivities by throwing out their own waves of the Force to their captors. Both female Masters collided against each other from behind, allowing their former captives to drop back to theri feet and rush back in to murder them with their lightsabers.

Lobi recovered first, and activated and brought up her own lightsaber to block off Hamner's lightsaber strike. But her danger sense tingled, and she rolled off to her right before getting herself up into a crouch and blocking off Hamner's next strike. Lobi then twirled Hamner's blade out of the way and launched herself up into a backward kick that sent Hamner staggering back.

And upon landing, she was momentarily distracted when she saw Octa Ramis's head severed from her body thanks to Garis Boric's lightsaber. Lobi managed to offer herself a faint moment of grief for her fellow Master before she was forced to bring up her lightsaber again to block off Hamner's next strike. As for Boric, he had already turned and engaged Jacen again as they resumed their duel; and behind the both of them, the Jedi who had killed their fellows - all of whom were part of Boric's squadron, Hamner's Hammers - attacked all the other surviving Knights, apprentices, and Masters Horn and Cilghal with wild abandon and with absolute belief in Hamner's cause, even after the revelation of his misdeeds.

.

Upon boarding Danni's disguised Sekotan freighter with Mara, Kyp Durron, Saba Sebatyne, Han, Leia, and a few other rogue Jedi who had all gathered in the passenger compartment, Jaina asked the blonde scientist, "You don't mind if I take the helm?"

Jaina expected Danni to look offended; instead, the other woman practically sighed in relief as she unstrapped herself from the pilot seat and stood up to head back to the passenger compartment. "It's all yours, Jaina."

Without hesitation, Jaina plopped herself down into the pilot seat, strapped herself in, called back to make sure that everyone else was strapped in - Danni answered with a, "Yeah!" just after everyone else gave a unified positive response - and then she brought the freighter up into a steep climb from which she leveled off at after a few dozen meters. She then zoomed the freighter for the direction of the Jedi Temple; no pursuits came in their wake, for the police were still in the midst of the fierce battle with the inmates inside.

And just after the freighter zoomed away, several of the Jedi inmates began to find their ways out as they finally started to beat their way - either with their limbs or with the Force - out from the prison complex.

.

Bwua'tu, seated in his command chair aboard the _Ralroost_, watched the holographic display of the Cal Omas Correctional Institute's breakout with trepidation; and once he saw that strange-looking black freighter zooming away from the rioting prison, he was about to order a full squadron to go after it. He had made a mistake in only sending two starfighters, he thought, especially after the freighter, whose pilot's skills were rather dodgy at worst, had destroyed the first one, and he wasn't entirely sure how that second one was destroyed.

But before he could give the command, the _Ralroost_'s sensors officer called, "Sir, we have a collective of multiple contacts coming out of hyperspace all at once!"

Bwua'tu shut off the holographic display of the events occurring down on Denon and looked ahead through his Assault Cruiser's forward viewport, where a large group of unmistakable smugglers' ships dropped out of hyperspace and immediately opened fire on the Galactic Alliance's fleet line.

The Supreme Commander didn't have to tell anyone to have their ships' energy shields raised; they were already up, and the _Ralroost_ and her fellow warships opened fire back upon the invading smugglers' line.

.

With what little concentration he could spare, Hamner knew that he had to come up with a plan beyond killing Lobi and all of the other Jedi who refused to see his vision.

Contact Bwua'tu, he thought. He had to contact Supreme Commander Bwua'tu and... and... order an orbital bombardment to destroy the Jedi Temple.

But how could he do that without killing those who were still on his side, such as Boric and the other members of Hamner's Hammers (all of whom continued to live as they continued to strike down their fellow Jedi)? He lacked his commlink, thanks to Solo teleporting it away; he still had the Force, of course, and he could potentially reach out to his supporters by projecting his voice above all the ruckus of battle and warning them of the danger that would come.

But again, without his commlink, how could he contact Bwua'tu? The Supreme Commander obviously wasn't Force-sensitive, so neither he nor anyone within his non-Jedi fleet could perceive whatever Force-calls Hamner could send out to them.

Then Hamner remembered; his own personal inset commlink back in his office, which Solo simply turned off. By turning it back on...

But first, Hamner had to at least make sure that Lobi was removed as a threat. So, with renewed purpose, he redoubled his attacks upon her even as she continued to hold steadfast from her position, her blade whirling quickly and dangerously, as if in contrast to her calm and controlled facial and body expressions.

Hamner was about to give into his own frustration and scream in outrage at how well Lobi was holding her own against him - and possibly lose himself to that rage - when he sensed a Jedi being flung straight behind him from a Force-attack from one of Hamner's Hammers.

But instead of leaping out of the way, Hamner braced himself, and allowed the Jedi behind him to collide with him.

And what happened next occurred as if it were in slow-motion; once the Jedi behind him collided with his back, Hamner staggered forward, as if he lost his balance, and that allowed Lobi an opening to run him through with her lightsaber. However, Hamner had his lightsaber brought up to interpose the opposing blade from piercing his flesh, and the momentum that carried him forward from the collision behind worked against Lobi.

For that, the Chev was forced to back up a step, and that was when Hamner allowed himself to drop to his belly before using the Force to fling the being who collided with him straight at Lobi. The Chev, careful not to harm an ally, caught the male Rodian in her free hand.

And knowing that Lobi would be so hesitant as to take the extra time to not hurt an ally, Hamner took advantage of that momentary distraction and swiped his lightsaber across the Chev's shins. Lobi then collapsed to the floor in screaming pain, the unconscious Rodian rolling away from her, and Hamner then stood up, turned, and rushed back to his office, not bothering to finish off the severely-wounded Lobi.

Besides, he figured, she would be dead soon anyway; along with all the other Jedi who weren't Hamner, Boric, or any of the Hammers.

.

"Jaina!" Mara called as she hurried from the freighter's passenger compartment to the cockpit. She was holding up her commlink, which she retook from the prison along with her lightsaber. "Aves just called in! He says that he's back to help us out; he's fighting Bwua'tu's fleet up in orbit!"

Jaina laughed in triumph; she was piloting Danni's Sekotan freighter back to the Jedi Temple to get one more shot at Hamner and his supporters. Now they could return so the Jedi with them can head to their starfighters and launch to get up into space and fight off Bwua'tu's warships.

"Then let's go help him out," Jaina replied. She sensed that Jacen was already inside; if anyone could take care of Hamner, it was Jaina's twin brother, for all that she thought of him for his relative passivity.

Soon, she had brought the ship over the entrance to the Jedi Temple's hangar bay, which was closed and locked up; but that made very little difference as Jaina used the laser cannons on Danni's Sekotan freighter to blast through the bay's blast doors, allowing her to pilot the ship through the smoking hole. Upon emerging from the other end, Jaina saw that all of the Jedi ships, including the _Millennium Falcon_, were now lowered to the bay's deck, which lacked the layered metal that had the pillars which stood all of the ships away from the floor previously.

Jaina then had the freighter's boarding ramp lowered, and she could hear everyone hurrying off the ship to head to their own. It didn't take long for them to launch and fly out for space above.

The only one who didn't board her ship was Mara, who veered away from the docked _Jade Shadow_ and headed over to one of the hangar bay's exits, which Jaina, as she watched her aunt run, knew would lead the redheaded woman to the Temple's childcare center.

It made sense that Mara would go back for Ben, Jaina thought.

Once everyone but her and Danni were out, Jaina unstrapped herself from the freighter's pilot seat and stood up to face Danni, who returned to the cockpit.

"You coming with us?" Jaina asked the other woman.

Danni shook her head. "If you don't mind, I think I'd rather stay here."

Jaina nodded. "That's fine; you've done more than enough, Danni." She then hurried past her and out of the freighter to head to her X-wing.

.

In spite of the viciousness of Boric's attacks, which didn't measure up to the combined viciousness provided by the corrupt Jedi Knight and Hamner, Jacen was still able to see past his opponent and witness Hamner rushing back to his office, leaving behind a footless and pained Tresina Lobi behind.

Why was Hamner running? Jacen thought in between all of the blocks that he brought up to stop Boric's attacks from getting through. Was the corrupt Jedi Master running away in cowardice? Or was there something else...?

Knowing that whatever Hamner was up to wouldn't be good, Jacen ceased his duel against Boric by promptly disengaging and heading off to the wall on his left. He leaped up, quickly planted his feet there, and launched himself past Boric even as the latter swiped at him with his lightsaber, an attack that Jacen was easily able to block before sailing past him.

Jacen landed in a duck-and-roll and came up at running speed for Hamner. But his danger sense tingled, and he whirled back around to block off a decapitating strike from Boric; but knowing that he probably didn't have time for this, Jacen stomped Boric in the midriff, sending the other man collapsing to the ground. Without hesitation, Jacen turned back and resumed his course for Hamner.

But again, his danger sense tingled, but this time, he wasn't able to react in time as he was enveloped in a crackling wave of blue electricity from behind, which flared his nerves and made him stand stock-still from the unbelievable agony.

However, after a moment, it was in that unbelievable agony that Jacen remembered his lessons in pain from Vergere; and he knew that if he were to allow this pain to swallow him up, he would fall, he would fail, and he would allow Hamner to get away with his plan...

Which was to call down an orbital bombardment for the Temple, hoping to kill everyone but himself, Boric, and the Jedi Knights who were on their side, who he thought would escape somehow.

Upon learning this, Jacen was momentarily confused as to how he learned of this; and that was when he realized that it was through this pain, through this unbelievable agony, when he received a momentary flare of clarification through the Force. Where others would drown in it, he would rise above it and receive elucidation; and in the unbelievable agony that he originally felt when Uncle Luke died, he had left the Jedi Order, having received a clarification that he originally didn't realize was a clarification from the Force itself, to leave an Order that would be corrupted by a corrupt man like Hamner.

He had lived in that pain in his grief for Luke; he had lived in it when he was isolated from his family; and he had lived in it when Danni had cut herself off from him...

Danni. She was here; she was here in the Jedi Temple's hangar bay because she felt scared, as Jacen perceived her fear for helping anyone else, after helping Jaina and the others escape from the prison. But Jacen, in the clarification that was brought upon by this pain, saw how she could help more by staying here.

And with all that clarification, he knew what he had to do next.

He turned the pain that enveloped him and used the Force to bring it right back to its owner, Garis Boric.

And Boric, unaccustomed to pain, took suffering from his own power, and he was almost instantly fried into a smoldering, charred corpse, his fatal screams dying out as quickly as he did.

Jacen was then plunged back into uncertainty again from the relief of pain, and he gave a momentary look back at Boric's smoking form before resuming his pace for Hamner once again.

.

As soon as Jaina, who was in the midst of the Jedi starfighters that had launched from Denon, began to fire her X-wing's laser cannons for rival starfighters that her friend-or-foe display distinguished, she blew away a Y-wing whose shields had been drastically depleted before rolling off to starboard to sheer off the port stabilizers of a Galactic Alliance X-wing, which spun off and away from Denon.

Jaina then brought her ship up in a steep climb before leveling out and diving down toward a B-wing; her shots missed for the most part thanks to the opposing starfighter's pilot's skills, and what laser bolts that did hit were easily absorbed by the B-wing's shields. It wasn't long before the B-wing executed a backward loop that brought it on a bearing course for Jaina, firing away bolts at the Jedi starfighter.

Naturally, Jaina dodged the bolts with various swift maneuvers before pulling back and allowing the climbing B-wing to zoom past her; she then followed it and unleashed a volley of laser bolts that quickly depleted the B-wing's rear shields before sheering it away into one giant explosion.

Jaina then placed her X-wing on its port stabilizers for a hunt for a new target, but her ship bucked from the fire of another ship behind her, and her rearview sensors told her that an A-wing was tracking a series of shots for her. Jaina broke to starboard and executed a barrel roll downward before leveling off and swinging around so that the A-wing was in her crosshairs.

The A-wing zipped off to Jaina's port, allowing the latter's lasers to zip past, but Jaina continued tracking the now-fleeing A-wing; its gradual course was soon interrupted when its pilot pulled a snap maneuver that brought it to a sudden drop below Jaina's line of fire; the A-wing then launched a proton torpedo for Jaina's X-wing.

Jaina then broke to port and began to fly among all the growing amounts of debris and decreasing numbers of ships, both GA and Jedi alike, to avoid the torp; eventually, the torp hit a floating piece of debris and disintegrated into a brilliant explosion whose impact wave bucked Jaina's ship forward in an ungraceful arc.

Nevertheless, Jaina was able to correct her course and once again swung around to confront the A-wing; the rival starfighter appeared in the midst of the clearing explosion from the proton torpedo, and Jaina unleashed another volley of bolts without hesitation. The bolts weakened the A-wing's shields, but before they could do anymore, the rival fighter broke up and to Jaina's starboard before unleashing yet another proton torpedo at Jaina.

This time, however, Jaina figured that she didn't want to lead another merry chase for a proton torpedo; so she reached out to the Force and detonated the torp's warhead, triggering its explosion, which obliterated the A-wing and its pilot. Jaina simply allowed the impact wave to carry her along for several dozens of meters in space before righting her ship again and searching for new targets.

.

Upon entering the childcare center, Mara was once again confronted by the Rodian Jedi receptionist, whose green-bladed lightsaber was already lit and swinging at Mara. But the latter, instead of activating her own lightsaber, had Force-sped toward the Rodian so that the arc of her lightsaber swing would do the human no harm, grabbed the alien's weapon-wielding arm, and then knocked her out with her opposite elbow.

Mara then moved into the childcare center, where, this time, Ben was waiting with a group of several other children. And watching over them, in place of the late Kam and Tionne, was a female Pau'an who glared daggers at Mara before standing up.

"Miss Skywalker, I am going to have to ask you to leave," the Pau'an stated calmly.

"You can't keep my son from me," Mara growled. "Especially not when you know what kind of man Hamner is now."

"Whatever man he is, he is still the Jedi Master of this Order," the Pau'an countered. "And that means that the children will be safe, unlike if they were in the care of dissidents like you."

"Oh, gimme a break!" Mara argued. "You're deluding yourself if you think Hamner is the leading Jedi Master anymore!" _At least that explains why that Rodian tried to take me out_, she thought.

"Miss Skywalker, please leave," the Pau'an repeated with a threatening tone.

But Ben, uncaring of the brewing conflict between his mother and the Pau'an, stood up from his cross-legged position and ran over to his mother with glee.

"Ben, no!" the Pau'an said as she reached a hand out to use the Force to keep Ben a few steps away from his mother.

"Let go of him!" Mara said.

She then unleashed a wave of the Force that knocked the Pau'an back to the wall behind her, where she was knocked unconscious, much to the shocked and scared screams of the children.

Ben, however, was both scared and sort of relieved that he wasn't in the Pau'an's hands anymore. Mara then wordlessly scooped him up and turned to leave the childcare center.

But that was when her commlink beeped, and she answered it.

"Attention, all Jedi," Jacen's voice said, "Kenth Hamner is about to call down for an orbital bombardment of the Jedi Temple. I repeat, Kenth Hamner is about to order an orbital bombardment of the Jedi Temple. Evacuate immediately."

Mara sighed as soon as the message ended; and that meant only one thing for her.

She turned back and put on her best calming voice to the gathered Jedi children. "C'mon, younglings, we going on a field trip! Now wake Jedi Uyahl-" she indicated the Pau'an with a nod of her head "-so she can come with us!"

Hopefully, the Pau'an and the Rodian would listen to her when they came around.

.

"Commander Bwua'tu, I know you're busy with that smuggler fleet and the Jedi traitors right now," Hamner said impatiently over his office's comm console, "but I need you to commence an orbital bombardment of the Jedi Temple! The Jedi traitors _here_ must all die, as well!"

"Won't that kill you, too, Master Hamner?" Bwua'tu asked.

"The Jedi who are loyal to me and I will get out of here in time," Hamner said, looking to the window that he could simply jump out at anytime; there was a nearby roof on the opposite side of the street that wouldn't tax his Jedi powers for him to land softly upon.

"Very well," Bwua'tu decided. "I will shift the _Ralroost_'s position so that it will be able to destroy the Temple."

"Thank you," Hamner said promptly before terminating the connection.

But then, the commlink suddenly erupted into a series of sparks, much to Hamner's (figurative) shock. He looked up and found, at the threshold to his office again, Jacen Solo, though his lightsaber remained deactivated.

Hamner stood up and leveled a malicious grin at the younger man.

"You're too late, Solo!" Hamner gloated. "Soon, we will all die; and this Order will find a new progenitor, just as it had when your uncle resurrected it."

"You're right about one thing, Hamner," Jacen replied. "I am too late. But you know what?"

When Jacen didn't continue, Hamner shrugged in askance.

"I was meant to be too late," Jacen concluded.

Hamner's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? And why do you not have your lightsaber active?"

Jacen shrugged. "Because I don't need it right now."

Hamner's eyes widened as he fumbled for his lightsaber, fearing that its fate would have joined his commlink's in whatever place Jacen had teleported the latter device to.

Jacen shook his head with a sly grin. "No, even I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't rob you of your lightsaber; not even from someone like you."

Hamner sneered. "Your compassion will be your undoing." He then activated his lightsaber and leaped forward for the attack.

But Jacen simply sidestepped Hamner's blade, grabbed the top of the other hilt, and quickly levered it so that it lopped off the corrupted Jedi Master's right arm by the shoulder.

Hamner then fell to the floor of his office screaming in pain, in unbelievable agony. His right arm, the one that held the lightsaber, dropped to the floor next to him, as cauterized by the severed joint as his shoulder now was, and his lightsaber was extinguished.

When his screams finally died off, and he was starting to go into shock, Jacen, looking down at him, said, "I can still get you out; I knew you would tell Bwua'tu to order an orbital bombardment of the Temple; I perceived that when your little lackey, Garis Boric, gave me an incredible amount of pain before he died." He nodded his head in acknowledgement of how ridiculous that sounded. "It's a Force thing. Point is, though, I got on the Order's emergency comm channel again and let everyone know to get out of here; the rest of the Jedi who were loyal to you? They got distracted and were killed."

Before Jacen had entered the office, he looked back to the Jedi in the corridor who were fighting the members of Hamner's Hammers who had also listened in to the emergency broadcast on their commlinks; for this, Corran Horn, Cilghal, and a few other Jedi had all cut down the distracted members, who were shocked that their precious Jedi Masters would make such a command.

Hamner growled in both pain and frustration.

"So what do you say, Hamner?" Jacen asked. "Will you seek redemption for your actions? Will you seek the help you need to climb out of your fall from the dark side?" Even if he didn't believe in the dark side of the Force anymore, Jacen knew that for all intents and purposes, that was what had happened to Hamner.

The older man hissed through his teeth and spat in Jacen's face, which Jacen wiped away with his hand.

"You destroyed this Order, Solo!" Hamner screamed. "You and all the other treacherous _former_ Jedi who believed that all that I did was wrong! You are so self-righteous and deluded!"

"I guess that maybe," Jacen said, "you're right... from a certain point of view."

Hamner heaved in angry frustration, and the cold hatred in his eyes had confirmed to Jacen that the older man would, indeed, rather die than be helped by the likes of him.

"Since Bwua'tu is likely having at least someone aboard _Ralroost_ or aboard one of the other GA ships, if not all of them, monitoring the Temple for your lifesigns, if not others," Jacen said, "he probably wouldn't fire down while you're still inside. So, if you're still adamant about staying here and dying with the rest of the Temple, I'll use a little something I learned from the Baran Do Sages; it'll scramble lifesign readings so that it'll make it look like you and a few other Jedi who were loyal to you evacuated while the rest of us are still here. The same will go for the other sensors that'll tell them that ships had just evacuated from the Temple, which would make bombarding it pointless otherwise. As for ground and air communication to the orbital fleet, well, that can be jammed easily; I can get Danni Quee to do that."

"Do what you like!" Hamner sneered.

Jacen nodded, closed his eyes, and reached out to commence a _hassat-durr_ technique that did as he said it would to the lifesign readings of the GA warships above. Then he turned and headed out of the office, leaving Hamner alone to soon die of the power that he had ordered to be brought down upon the Temple.

.

Even though Leia and Han weren't Jedi, they still had their commlinks tuned into the Jedi Order's emergency channel - as Mara had told them to do before she set off for Ben - and they heard Jacen's call for an evacuation of the Temple, which would soon be destroyed by an orbital bombardment from the _Ralroost_.

By now, the Assault Cruiser was being swarmed by the Jedi starfighters, but in turn, the starfighters were being harried by the GA's own defensive starfighters.

Han was prepared to pilot the _Millennium Falcon_ for the _Ralroost_ when Leia, beside him in the copilot seat, said, "Han, we should get down to the Temple!"

Han tore his gaze away from the forward viewport and fixed his eyes on his wife in disbelief. "What?! Are you crazy? We could end up blown to pieces if we go down there!"

"We have to help everyone evacuate the Temple in time," Leia pointed out calmly.

Han sighed. "Damn, you're right," he said after a moment.

He then turned the _Falcon_ away from Bwua'tu's Assault Cruiser and made it down through Denon's atmosphere before heading to the Temple's hangar bay's destroyed ship-only entrance. Han set the YT-1300 next to the black, organic-looking freighter that was piloted by Danni Quee.

Soon, several Jedi poured in from the various entrances from throughout the Jedi Temple. Many of them piled into either the freighter, the _Jade Shadow_, or the _Falcon_, and over the next few minutes, Han practically bounced in his seat over the fact that at any moment now, an orbital bombardment would level this entire Temple.

But as they all waited, Danni, who had been contacted by Jacen via comm as he hurried through the Temple for his own ship, activated a Sekotan comm-jamming sequence on her ship's control board that blocked off communication from the ground and air GA forces to the orbital ones; now Bwua'tu wouldn't know what he would have done until it was too late. And since the air forces would be too busy trying to stop the Jedi ships from getting into the air, none of them would have a chance to actually get up through the atmosphere to break clear of the comm jamming.

.

"Remember, everyone!" Saba Sebatyne's voice came over the Jedi starfighters' fleetwide system. "We have to stall the _Ralroost_ long enough for the rest of the Jedi to escape from the Temple; we may not stop her from destroying it, but we can delay Bwua'tu from having hiz way with the livez of our fellowz!"

Saba's voice then cut off from the transmission, leaving Jaina alone to do her work again. Veering hard to starboard, she blasted away yet another GA X-wing before sending a volley of bolts that tore an A-wing in half via a brief explosion. She then began to pepper the _Ralroost_'s energy-shielded hull not only with lasers, but also with a few proton torpedoes and concussion missiles.

Her Force-senses alerted her to the danger that came from behind before her X-wing's sensors did, so she had her ship commence a direct plummet downward, and the lasers that nearly took out her rear shields flared past to eventually hit the _Ralroost_'s shields.

Jaina then pulled back on her ship's controls so that she was now behind the ship that tried to kill her, which was a B-wing that she blew away with a set of lasers that only took a few seconds to do their work. Next, she plowed back ahead for the _Ralroost_ and began harassing the Assault Cruiser with more lasers, and the capital warship directed her lasers away from Denon so that they began targeting Jaina and all the other GA enemy ships that were giving her some trouble.

"It's working!" Saba's voice appeared again. "Keep it up! The Jedi are almost out!"

Jaina kept up her maneuvers, expertly zigzagging here and there as the _Ralroost_'s lasers tried to shoot her down, only for the lasers to annihilate the starfighters of the Assault Cruiser's allies instead. It saved Jaina a lot of ammo in her lasers and other projectiles, so she only had to worry about the guns in front instead of the ones from either beside or behind her for the most part.

.

It didn't take long before the _Millennium Falcon_, Danni's freighter, and the _Jade Shadow_ were practically filled to the brim with Jedi passengers, and those who couldn't fit inside any of those vessels had taken the remaining Jedi starfighters and blasted off through the hangar bay's ship-only exit.

And once Han could see that Jacen was among the last to enter the hangar bay, and he boarded his own ship, the _Solo Quest_, which took on several passengers of her own, that was when Leia practically shouted, "We can go now!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Han said nervously as he rocketed the _Falcon_ up to the ship-only exit.

The freighter, the _Shadow_, and the _Quest_ followed behind in haste_._

.

Hamner didn't know if he was becoming delirious from the shock of his severed and cauterized arm, but above him, he saw Luke Skywalker's form staring blankly down upon him.

Hamner wondered if he was seeing Skywalker's Force-spirit, but saw that there was no shimmering blue form around him, as Skywalker himself had described several times in his encounters with the ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker. So was this really him? Was this his Force-spirit? Did Hamner's weakened state allow him to perceive Skywalker's Force-ghost more clearly than he might otherwise if he were completely healthy right now?

Or... was Luke Skywalker still alive?

It was a highly preposterous notion, since Hamner had burned the man's body himself all those months ago. Still, it filled him with a great fearful thought in what he knew to be his final moments.

Hamner didn't say anything as the dead Jedi Master bent down and reached for the lightsaber that was still gripped in Hamner's severed arm's hand. Skywalker pried the fingers open with with his left hand, and with his right - which was flesh in place of a black glove that would have covered the metallic droid hand he had in his final years - he placed it upon the lightsaber hilt itself.

When Hamner's right hand came away, the lightsaber's hilt was in pieces, and the green crystal of Hamner's lightsaber collapsed into liquid before turning into a dark, crimson red; then the liquid evaporated into nothing.

Skywalker stood back up to his full height, looked back down at Hamner again, and disappeared.

And with that, as Hamner heard the sonic booms that came from the orbital lasers that were fired from the _Ralroost_ up in orbit, he laughed; and it was a manic laugh. A laugh full of a despairing realization that was too difficult for Hamner to voice without breaking down into sobs.

Yet Hamner kept that laugh with him until the wave of orbital lasers struck the Jedi Temple, obliterating everything inside and reducing the entire structure to rubble that tumbled down into the depths of Denon's underworld.

And the only thing that remained of Kenth Hamner was that deep, manic laugh that echoed, through the Force, over the very place in which he died; and it was all that remained of his corrupted Jedi Order.


	74. Epilogue

At first, Bwua'tu found it highly suspicious when the Jedi starfighters – he knew they were Jedi starfighters because of the impossibly fast reaction times of their pilots to avoiding incoming projectiles from their foes – backed off from their onslaught upon the _Ralroost_ after seeing to the destruction of the Jedi Temple. But when he realized that since he already accomplished his goal, there was no reason to keep that onslaught up; not even for revenge purposes.

Bwua'tu grinned in triumph; the destruction of the Jedi Temple had demoralized the dissidents to Master Hamner's Order. Soon, the Supreme Commander thought, they would all surrender and be brought to heel and be punished, maybe even executed, for their crimes, just as the rogue Jedi down in the Temple had been properly disposed of. Now to contact Master Hamner...

The Bothan was about to contact Hamner on his private commlink – since he knew that his office commlink was more than likely destroyed when the Temple was obliterated – when the sensors officer called, "Sir, we have multiple contacts coming up from Denon; they're not ours!"

Bwua'tu shifted his gaze over to the forward viewport, where Denon was still in sight due to the _Ralroost_'s orientation for her bombardment of the Jedi Temple. And as he watched, several starfighters – joined by the organic-looking black freighter, the _Jade Shadow_, the _Solo Quest_, and, worst of all, the _Millennium Falcon_ – loomed into view in the foreground of Denon.

Now Bwua'tu was confused; how could they have escaped? Both the sensors and lifesigns officers confirmed that all of the Jedi except for Hamner, and a few other Jedi who were likely part of the retinue who were still loyal to him, had been in the Temple when it was destroyed!

He put that out of his mind and was about to order the turbolaser battery operators to open fire on the rising ships when the comm officer reported, "Sir, we have a hail from one of the ships ahead!"

Bwua'tu hesitated; perhaps this would at least elucidate how they were here instead of, well, dead.

"Answer," Bwua'tu demanded.

The comm officer wordlessly complied, and the voice of Jacen Solo said, "Supreme Commander Nek Bwua'tu, Kenth Hamner is dead. The Jedi Order is no longer under his leadership, and it is therefore no longer affiliated with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances."

Bwua'tu's eyebrows lifted in astonished disbelief, along with everyone else on the _Ralroost_'s bridge.

"Don't believe me?" Solo asked when Bwua'tu didn't respond. "Your lifesign sensors tell you the opposite of what I told you? Well, run it back on record; and this time, I won't have any of my tech Force-intervention that I learned from the Baran Do Sages influence the recording."

Bwua'tu looked back over at the lifesigns officer. "Do it."

The aforementioned officer complied, and after a moment, she came back with a stunned, "Sir... the only lifesign on record now was... Kenth Hamner."

"Same went for the sensors record that would have told you if there were any ships that left the Jedi Temple," Solo continued. "And as for why you didn't receive any communication from the ground that could have told you that information? Well, that was just plain-old fashioned comm jamming on Danni Quee's part."

"At your disservice, Commander Bwua'tu," Danni Quee's voice came on in a smug fashion.

Bwua'tu growled. "If you think this changes anything, Solo, you're wrong; you're all still guilty of treason against the Galactic Alliance, and you will all die for it! All batteries, open fi-"

"Sir, we have new multiple contacts coming out all at once from hyperspace!" the sensors officer reported, interrupting Bwua'tu's order. "It's a Hapan fleet!"

And indeed, five Battle Dragons dropped out of hyperspace and discharged squadrons of Miy'til fighters that began to swarm toward the GA fleet, aiding in the smuggler-Jedi counter-force immediately.

Bwua'tu didn't need to give any orders; the _Ralroost_'s forward turbolaser batteries opened fire on the Jedi ships that had risen from Denon while the Assault Cruiser's rear batteries discharged back at the combined forces of the Hapan, smuggler, and Jedi fleets.

But instead of actively engaging, all the enemy fleets at the _Ralroost_'s rear went on the defensive just as the Jedi ships that had risen from Denon fanned out so that they began overcoming the flanks of Bwua'tu's Assault Cruiser and her sister warships, and all the while laying covering fire.

A thought occurred to Bwua'tu as all this happened, and he looked to the comm officer and ordered, "Comm, try to get a line on the enemy's communications."

"Aye, sir." After a moment, the comm officer reported back with, "Their line is encrypted, sir!"

"Then decrypt it!" Bwua'tu snapped.

"Yes, sir!"

Nearly two minutes later, once the dissident ships from Denon had completely overcome the flanks of the Galactic Alliance defensive fleet, Bwua'tu's patience came to its end and he practically roared, "Why haven't you decrypted the line yet?!"

"I'm trying, sir! But it's an unfamiliar encryption system!"

Bwua'tu growled; damn Danni Quee. "Well, they're going to do _something_ if they're not going all-out with their forces, and if we don't find out what, we're all going to be in very big trouble!"

But once the enemy ships from Denon had joined the Hapans, smugglers, and the rest of the remaining Jedi starfighters, Bwua'tu was proven wrong; instead of making some grand move that might very well have crippled or destroyed Bwua'tu's forces, the enemy vessels turned away, still firing defensively, and began retreating.

_They're trying to get out of Denon's gravity well_, Bwua'tu concluded, _and jump to hyperspace!_

Bwua'tu then hailed all the commanders of the fleet's Interdictor cruisers and told them to put up some artificial gravity wells to keep the enemy ships from escaping the system; however, each and every one of them told him that their artificial gravity mines were completely inoperable, much to their and Bwua'tu's worried puzzlement.

Even the pilots and passengers of the retreating ships of the GA's enemies were puzzled, but took their advantage from it; the only one in the entire Denon system who wasn't puzzled by there being no artificial gravity mines being employed by the GA's Interdictors was Jacen Solo.

He grinned, knowing that with what he learned from the Baran Do Sages, he had shorted out the Interdictors' gravity-producing systems, allowing himself and everyone on his side to make an otherwise clean jump for hyperspace.

.

Iraine didn't like working with non-Bothans when non-Bothans were what made up the Galactic Alliance, his people's enemy. Still, they were necessary, and with the GA making sure that their end of the HoloNet – namely their news – was silenced so that Bothawui couldn't hear what was going on, it put the Bothan people both on and around their homeworld on edge. Hence, by employing spies in species that were not engaged in war with the GA as a whole, they were in better positions to receive news from what was happening over at Denon and in several other GA systems and sectors.

And the information that Iraine received a few days ago about the internal crises occurring over at Denon was most intriguing; he ran it through some verification scans, of course, and indeed, the news was, in fact, true. He had naturally brought it over to his superiors in the Combined Clans, who, in turn, brought it up for discussion with the rest of their peers over what their next course of action should be in light of this information.

Iraine thought that the Bothans should take the opportunity to strike at Denon while the reigning government there was in a state of turmoil. There would be no need for waiting for the GA fleet to return here once again; yes, by diverting resources away from Bothawui, the Bothans' homeworld would be more open to attack – if not by the GA, then possibly by another threat – but the main threat would be, if not destroyed, severely crippled.

Iraine had yet to hear word about what the Combined Clans' decision was before a fleet that bore no markings to the Galactic Alliance military dropped out into the Bothawui system. He was informed from one of his own contacts who served aboard the Bothan fleet's flagship _Defender_ about this news even as it happened.

And aboard the _Defender_, the defensive fleet's admiral, Jac'krana, immediately tapped on his peoples' fleetwide transmission via one of the buttons on the right arm of his command chair.

"All forces, do not engage until we are fired upon!" Jac'krana ordered. For all he knew, he would be ordering his people to fire on potential allies against the Galactic Alliance.

After several silent, tense moments in the Bothawui system, a hail was transmitted from one of the newly-arrived ships, which Jac'krana ordered to be sent to his command chair.

The holographic transmission revealed a young human male staring back at Jac'krana; a human male whom the Bothans were all too familiar with.

"I am Jacen Solo," the infamous human identified himself formally. "I am the spokesperson for this fleet. We are not part of the Galactic Alliance; not anymore. Are you the Bothan fleet's commanding officer?"

"I am Admiral Jac'krana," the Bothan introduced himself with a wary but confirming nod. "You have quite the negative reputation among my people, Mister Solo. Why should I listen to what you have to say and not order all of my warships to fire on you?"

"Because if you do not listen to me, Admiral Jac'krana," Solo said, "the Galactic Alliance will come to your system and destroy you; and this time, I doubt that Supreme Commander Bwua'tu will hold any punches, especially now that he's lost the Jedi Order."

Jac'krana smirked. "Do you honestly believe that Commander Bwua'tu, a fellow Bothan, would be so desperate to end this war between our governments that he would go so far as to exterminate his own people? I know that he has sworn a vow of _kre'vi_ to the Galactic Alliance, but I doubt that even he would condone an operation that would involve, say, a baradium missile, for instance."

"You think he won't?" Solo said. "The Galactic Alliance did use a baradium missile to wipe out Dathomir; and they weren't even active enemies against the GA either."

Although it was a lie, as that operation was condoned, in secret, by Hamner and carried out by Garis Boric, the fact remained that, because it was a Jedi Order operation, it was also a Galactic Alliance operation, given the connection between the two organizations at the time. So, from a certain point of view, Dathomir's apocalypse was a GA operation; and it was that point of view that Jacen would use to get Jac'krana to cooperate with what he had in mind.

Jac'krana's eyes widened in disbelief. "Dathomir has been destroyed? By a baradium missile from the Galactic Alliance?"

Solo nodded his head. "If you don't believe me, you can send some scouts out to that system and they can report back to you with what they'll find."

"I'll do just that," Jac'krana said. "But before I do, let's say that the scouts confirm what you have just told me, Solo. What then?"

"You know that you don't want to deal with a Galactic Alliance that will be harsh enough to deliver a baradium missile to destroy your planet, Admiral," Solo said. "So your next best bet is to do what your last Prime Minister tried to do with Chief of State A'Kla and accept a peaceful separation."

"Not while the True Victory Party refuses to allow the Bothan people to accept a peaceful separation," Jac'krana pointed out, "as was demonstrated by what happened to our last Prime Minister and Chief of State A'Kla."

"Well, we still have a few days," Solo said, "before the Galactic Alliance fleet is well-and-prepared to come here and try to kill you all. So why don't you help work with us and look for the True Victory Party members so they can be incarcerated for their crimes?"

"And divert resources away from planetary defense?" Jac'krana retorted. "Not on my life, Solo."

"In case you didn't notice, Admiral," Solo replied, "I just brought in some extra ships for you to use to aid in your planetary defense. So what ships of yours that'll be diverted from protecting Bothawui will be replenished by these new ships' firepower."

Jac'krana paused and brought his hand up to his chin in thought for a few moments. When his hand came away from his jaw, he said, "Very well, Solo; but first, allow me to send out some scouts to the Dathomir system to confirm what you said about its destruction."

"May I remind you, Admiral," Solo said, "that that may take some time; time you'll need to find the True Victory Party members before the Galactic Alliance fleet comes in and tries to kill all of you. I promise you, those scouts you'll send out will confirm what I'll say; so while they're off doing their job, some ships will aid you in your search for those among your people who would rather continue to have war with the Alliance than have peace."

Jac'krana sighed in defeat. "Alright then."

.

Over the course of the next week, with the cooperation of several dozens of Admiral Jac'krana's soldiers, the Jedi and their Hapan and smuggler allies helped root out many True Victory Party members, including Irane, from throughout Bothawui and from throughout the defensive fleet. From there, all of those members couldn't help but divulge their secrets about their fellow co-conspirators; and for those who were really stubborn, Jacen used what he learned from the Theran Listeners to extract the secrets from those minds, which turned out to be a fairly painless process that produced no lasting brain damage in the culprits.

By the end of that week, every Bothan who was a True Victory Party member was incarcerated, and that included several members in the Combined Clans, many of whom were originally arrested for condoning Captain Joil'ask and Commander Reh'mwa's hunts for Zonama Sekot. And with that resolved, Jacen Solo's ragtag fleet left the Bothawui system, leaving Jac'krana to be ready to negotiate terms with a very angry Nek Bwua'tu.

An hour after Solo's fleet was gone, a GA fleet commanded by Bwua'tu dropped out into the Bothawui system, ready for war when Jac'krana hailed the _Ralroost_ right away.

"Supreme Commander Bwua'tu," Jac'krana's hologrpahic form said in haste, "some things have been worked out in my peoples' internal matters, namely with the True Victory Party. Therefore, we're interested in discussing terms for renewing talks of peace."

Bwua'tu crossed his arms. "Do elaborate, Admiral."

From there, it took only another week before Chief of State Wynn Dorvan sat down with the Bothan people's next Prime Minister, which featured added security, given what happened the last time the governments' previous leaders met, in spite of the reassurance that, this time, no one would even try to foil these peace talks.

That turned out to be true, and Chief of State Dorvan left the peace signing meeting with the Bothans' latest Prime Minister safely. And it was at that point that the system of Bothawui became an independent, self-relying entity in terms of economics, agriculture, military, etc.

And once again, peace reigned over the galaxy.

.

Aboard his private vessel, wherein he aimlessly wandered the Kathol Rift for food and water, Tadar'Ro looked within the spectrum of the Force, as he had felt something great occur. And when he looked within it, he found that, indeed, the darkness that had threatened to overwhelm the multitude of colors that made up the Force was banished.

For that, even though he was still disowned from his own people, he gave a grateful cheer, just as his people back on their homeworld did.

And in the Temple of the Baran Do Sages, Master Koro Ziil and his followers, who had hid underground, rose up from their bunker, for they, too, felt the positive shift in the Force that had banished the darkness.

After looking out over the walls of the Temple before him, he turned to his followers and said, "Now we may truly live again."

.

Shedu Maad was a world run by a Hapan Ducha who actually lacked the anti-Jedi sentiment that was prevalent throughout the Hapes Consortium; and for that, she chose to remain anonymous and secluded from all but the Queen Mother herself.

Jacen didn't much care what the Jedi-loving Ducha's preference of her identity was; he was glad that the mysterious woman was allowing the Order to reestablish itself with the construction of a new Temple on Shedu Maad, which would end in three months. And with Saba Sebatyne as the leading Jedi Master, Jacen was sure that the Jedi would be in good hands this time.

He was taken out of the reverie of what he was watching when a soft, gentle hand was placed on his shoulder from behind. He turned and found Danni Quee standing there, smiling at him.

"Hey, c'mon, champ," she said. "Everyone's waiting for you."

Jacen nodded, reciprocating the woman's smile. His family – his parents, Jaina, and Aunt Mara – were throwing a family reunion, which was less a reunion and more of an informal ceremony that basically relinquished the disowning that Jacen had gone through from his own family.

Of course, it wasn't just his family; nearly all of his and Jaina's friends from their academy days on Yavin 4 would also be there, along with some family friends like Lando Calrissian and Booster Terrik. The only friend who would be absent from the reunion from Jacen and Jaina's academy days, who was still alive, was Tenel Ka, given her duties in the Consortium.

She was away to negotiate against hostilities between her government and the Galactic Alliance, what with what happened the last time the Hapan fleet was in the Denon system. And given that the GA had just resolved one war, Bwua'tu was certainly unwilling to start another, so there would likely be a peace between them.

Jacen also knew that one of the terms was that the Jedi Order would now be an organization allied entirely with the Hapes Consortium, a government known for its anti-Jedi sentiment, so the GA wouldn't go after the Order should the talks be accepted. As for the smugglers who aided the Jedi and the GA, Tenel Ka said that given that the Consortium has no tolerance for smugglers, they would be hunted down.

Of course, she didn't specify that Captain Aves and his smugglers would be hunted down...

It was just as well, Jacen thought, that Tenel Ka was absent anyway; if Tenel Ka had been at the reunion, and anyone around them sensed her baby through the Force, they would have known that it was also Jacen's, and that would have opened up so many questions that Jacen wasn't willing to answer.

He wordlessly joined Danni as they headed toward the forest clearing where the reunion was taking place, which was just a brisk walk away.

"So, Jacen, you're still not rejoining the Jedi?" Danni asked.

He shook his head. "I think I'll explore some more Force sects. Haven't gotten a whole lot of time in, you know?"

Danni nodded in understanding, though Jacen saw some disappointment on her face.

"But," Jacen added a moment later, "I guess I could take just a little more time away from that."

Danni smiled. "How does Chandrila sound? The beaches there are quite beautiful."

"That sounds nice," Jacen said.

They looked back toward their destination – the camp where the reunion was being held – and Jacen and Danni both took each other's hands.

Once they got there, Jacen was greeted with a round of applause and embraces from his friends and family, all of whom happily accepted him back into their fold; any lingering resentment toward him had all but evaporated for this joyous occasion.

He sat beside in between Jaina and Danni at the table and they all made their salutes to those who had fallen because of the recent conflict, such as Talon Karrde, and others who died earlier – like Chewbacca, Anakin Solo, and Luke Skywalker – were all remembered as well.

From thereon, laugh-inducing conversations and cheer were had as everyone dug into their meals and drank their fill as dusk turned to night. And throughout all of this, Jacen felt himself a part of his own family again.

By the end of the night, when everyone finally took their leave – and Jacen departed Shedu Maad with Danni for Chandrila – he knew that at this point, he had finally moved on from the horrible pain that the Yuuzhan Vong War brought him.


End file.
